A New Flame
by AstralFlame
Summary: A Team Flare grunt decides to change his life, and leaves the team. He wants to become someone who people will look up to, but first he must gain their trust, which is not as easy as it sounds. This is my second ever fanfiction, based on Pokémon X.
1. Goodbye and farewell

_Dear members of Team Flare,_

_With this letter, I want to announce my departure from Team Flare. I have decided that I no longer want to be involved in the criminal activities this organization holds. I can never walk in public without people pointing in my direction, or staring at me, wondering what evil things I will do next. Everyone tries to avoid me, because they are scared. I don't want to live like that for the rest of my life. I want to become someone people can look up to, someone who, after I die, will be remembered as a good person. Therefore, I will leave Team Flare, and start over from scratch. I want to thank you for the great years I could spend together with the other grunts. I have many great memories from the things we did together, and I will never forget them. But now is the time that I must choose for myself, and do what I think is right. Maybe I will see you guys again one day, but then I will be standing on the other side. Goodbye and farewell._

_Grunt E. Zero_

* * *

><p>"I hope I never have to write anything like that again." The young grunt threw his pen in the corner of the room. He got up from his chair and looked at the beds behind him. The other grunts were still sleeping, even though one of them snored loud enough to wake up a deaf man. "At least I never have to deal with that again."<p>

He walked to the sink, at looked at himself in the mirror. A young boy, seventeen years old looked back at him, without a trace of a smile on his face. He kept thinking about the last words he wrote in his letter. "As soon as I leave this building, I am no longer a grunt. How would the people call me? As long as they don't call me E-" He couldn't even get the word out of his mouth, so much did he hate his name. "As long as they don't call me by my real name."

He stood there for another minute, looking at his reflection, thinking about what he was about to do. He knew that there was no turning back now. His decision stands, and that's it. Every night again, he dreamt about himself as a successful man, standing at the center of attention. Everywhere he went, people recognized him. He had all the money he wanted, and every girl wanted to be with him. And he knew that one day, that dream would come true.

With that dream in his mind, he looked at the grunt a last time, before heading outside. He carefully closed the door behind him, ensuring that he wouldn't wake anyone up. A shiver went down his spine, as he walked through the halls of the Team Flare Headquarters. Usually, the rooms were lighted brightly with red lights, but now everything was shrouded in a dark shadow. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest, afraid that someone would notice him. He put one foot on the stairs, and looked back once more. "Farewell Team Flare. I hope we'll never meet again."

It was cold outside, but it didn't bother the ex-grunt. He looked across the streets of Lumiose City, and saw a few people walking around. No matter what time it is, there are always people on the streets of the Kalos capital. He decided to go left, straight to the Prism Tower. From there, he would decide what he would do, and where he would go.

As always, everyone immediately looked at him when he passed by. People abruptly paused their conversations, afraid that he might hear something. 'It's going to take some time to gain their trust', he thought to himself. An older woman hastily crossed the street, avoiding a confrontation with him. At first, these things really brought him down, but he got used to it. 'I'm just lucky that the Kalos Protection Law still exists, otherwise I would have to disguise myself.'

The Kalos Protection Law says that you cannot arrest someone, as long as they are not actively taking part in a criminal event. Before this law, members of Team Flare were arrested every day, for no other reason as simply existing. Luckily for them, Professor Sycamore had a lot more sympathy for the Team Flare grunts, and created a law to make them able to at least walk safely in public. However, it did not change people's perspective at all, and they still want to lock up a grunt when they see one.

That reminded him of something. 'Professor Sycamore has a Pokémon Lab here in Lumiose City. There must be a lot of Pokémon in there. If I can just get in there, and take a Pokémon, I can start my journey!' But the thought of stealing a Pokémon right at the start of his new life didn't appeal to him. 'I need to have a Pokémon if I want to do anything here, but I don't have one. I can't catch one either, and I'm pretty sure nobody is going to give my one for free either. Stealing a Pokémon seems to be the only thing I can do.'

He took a deep breath and started walking. He ignored the other pedestrians, who suspiciously looked at him as he passed by. After living in Lumiose City for seventeen years, he knew all the streets blindly, and he found Sycamore's Lab within a few minutes. This wasn't the first time he would break into the Pokémon Lab; he had been on a couple of mission with Team Flare to steal some valuable technology, so he knew exactly where to go. At the back of the building, behind the bushes, there was one window that was always slightly opened, which leads directly to the main hall. From there, you could go anywhere in the Pokémon Lab.

He walked up to the fence, and looked around. Luckily, there was nobody to see. He swiftly jumped over the fence and ran to the back. 'At least nobody can see me here.' As always, the window was ajar, and soon he was inside the Lab. Unlike the other times, he was here all alone, which made him feel very vulnerable. He walked across the hall, trying to figure out where he kept the Pokémon. He noticed a faint light coming from a large window, and he could vaguely see the shapes of three Pokéballs. He cautiously walked to the glass, and saw the light coming from the various machines in the room.

He looked around and decided to go for it. He ran into the room, as fast and quiet as he could, and looked at the three Pokéballs. 'There's no time to waste now. I'll just have to choose one at random and hope for the best.' He picked up one of the Pokéballs, and turned around, about to make his escape, when he saw that he was not alone. Right in front of him stood the Kalos Pokémon Professor himself, blocking the doorway. "What in the world do you think you are doing?"


	2. Another chance

'Great, I already messed up before I could even leave the city. I couldn't even get a single Pokémon! Sycamore is probably going to send me back to Team Flare, but what happens then? How do I explain this to the other grunts? I can't go back, never. I have to convince him that I came here on my own, and not for Team Flare.'

Professor Sycamore flipped the light switch. "Since when does Team Flare organize solo missions? You always come in a group." The ex-Team Flare grunt looked at his feet, avoiding eye contact. He was too scared to face the Pokémon Professor directly. "I'm not part of Team Flare." Sycamore snickered, and turned around. "Yeah sure, your outfit really doesn't tell me otherwise. Follow me, please, and put that Pokéball back where you found it."

He decided that listening to what Sycamore said might be the only way to gain his trust. He placed the Pokéball back in its holder, and followed the Professor back to the hall. He saw that Sycamore walked upstairs, without looking behind a single time, to check if he was really coming after him. 'He's giving me a chance to escape. I could run away right now, and he would do nothing about it.'

He stopped in the center of the hall, and looked at the window. Then, he followed Sycamore up the stairs. He saw him going in one of the many rooms, but he left the door opened. He looked inside, and saw the Professor talking with a scientist. 'Why are they all awake so early? The sun isn't even up yet, and the citizens of Lumiose City are all still asleep, but the scientists in the Pokémon Lab are already active.' He took a deep breath and stepped inside the room.

Sycamore turned to the ex-grunt, and he could see a faint smile on his face. "I gave you the opportunity to get away, yet you didn't take it. That is very interesting for a Team Flare member." This time, he did look the Pokémon Professor right in the eyes: "As I said, I am no longer part of Team Flare. I left the organization to fulfil my dream of becoming a successful man. But I guess you won't believe that either?" Sycamore smiled at him. "Team Flare or not, you are certainly a unique young man. Tell me, what is your name?"

'My name...' The thought of his name made him shiver. "I don't have a name." Again, Sycamore smiled. He seemed to be enjoying the conversation a lot. "Clara, could you tell us the name of this boy?" The scientist started rapidly pushing buttons on her computer. "Of course I can! If I can trace the fingerprints on the Pokéball he touched, I will have his identity in no time!" She seemed way too enthusiastic about this, as if she had been waiting for this moment for years.

Sycamore got up from his chair, and walked to the printer on the other side of the room. He took the paper that was just printed, and looked at the information on it. "There we go. Elijah Zero, born and raised in Lumiose City. Parents, unknown. Other relatives, unknown. Well, at least we know your name now." He looked at Elijah, who was shaking heavily on his feet. His face had turned as red as his outfit. "Please... Never call me that again. I can't stand that name."

Professor Sycamore laughed as he sat back down. "Never mind that. You must know that I still cannot entrust you with a Pokémon quite yet, it is too dangerous. However, if you decide to stay here for the rest of the day, I might consider it. Clara could be your guide for today, and she will keep an eye out for anything suspicious. So, how does that sound to you?"

Elijah could not believe what he heard. 'I broke into the Pokémon Lab, attempting to steal a Pokémon. And still, after that, he will allow me to stay here?' The scientist looked at him hopefully. He suddenly realized that she didn't care if he was a Team Flare member or not. She didn't mind it at all, unlike everyone else. "That would be amazing." Sycamore clapped in his hands. "Then we have a deal. Clara, I will leave him with you for now, I have some other things to do."

The next hour, Clara showed him every corner of the Pokémon Lab, quite literally. Elijah tried to pretend he was interested, but that was really difficult. Eventually, she guided him to the final room. "This is our Pokémon Climate Resort. In here, we keep different species of Pokémon for research, while they stay here under the best conditions. Please be careful, as they might attack you. Some of them are really energetic, you know?" With a bright smile, she opened the doors, and Elijah saw the great environment inside.

It was as if they were in a beautiful park, the only difference being that there was a roof above their head. There were bushes and trees, a pond and even a tiny waterfall. And the best part was that there were Pokémon everywhere. Suddenly, he heard someone screaming from behind. "Clara, what are you thinking? You can't just bring a Team Flare member in the Resort, are you insane? Just wait until Sycamore hears about this!" Elijah looked over his shoulder, and saw a male scientist scolding Clara.

Clara's mood instantly turned from happy to angry. "Listen Brandon, Sycamore already knows about this boy. In fact, he was the one who told me to serve as a guide for today. So think before you start yelling like a child the next time, all right?" The scientist gave Elijah a sceptical look. "So that's how it is. Good guy Sycamore gives everyone a change, doesn't he? That will be his downfall one day, I'm calling it. Don't expect everyone to be like him, grunt. Sycamore is probably the most sympathetic man you will find in Kalos, the rest won't accept you that easily."

Clara punched his shoulder. "Don't talk like that! Can't you just go somewhere else, I'll take over from you." Brandon sniffed, got his stuff, and walked away. Elijah assumed that even scientists had problems with teamwork sometimes. When Clara turned around, she was once again happy and energetic. "Hey, it seems like you have some visitors!"

In front of Elijah, three Pokémon were staring at him, keeping a safe distance. He knelt down to tell them it was safe. Slowly, the middle one walked closer to him. Clara watched in amaze how good this former member of Team Flare could take care of Pokémon. "That is the only Fennekin we have been able to find. They seem to be a very rare species, so we are very proud of this one!" Elijah played a bit more with the Pokémon, and other Pokémon approached him shortly after. He spent the rest of the day playing with the various Pokémon, and before he knew it, it was already night again.

"I'm glad to see that you treat our Pokémon so well." Sycamore's voice startled him, as he hadn't seen him coming in. That was when Elijah noticed that it had turned dark outside, meaning that he spent many hours playing with the Pokémon. "Tomorrow, we will see what happens next, but first we must rest. We have an extra room where you can spend the night, so don't worry about that."

The Fennekin was sad that her new friend had to leave already. Elijah promised that he would come back tomorrow, which cheered her up a bit. However, when he laid in his bed, he couldn't fall asleep. He wanted to go back to the Pokémon, and play some more with them. 'Maybe I can just sneak in there, just for a short while. I'll be back before anyone notices I'm gone!'


	3. Intruders

Even though this was only his second time ever, Elijah quickly navigated through the halls of the Pokémon Lab, trying not to wake anyone up. Soon enough, he had found the doors to the Pokémon Climate Resort. Part of him felt bad for sneaking in like that, but he really wanted to see the many Pokémon again. As fast as he could, Elijah entered the room, and closed the doors behind him.

When he looked up, he saw a projected moon, together with countless fake stars. 'So the Pokémon Climate Resort also has a built-in environment simulator. That is really impressive.' When he looked across the large room, he realized that most of the Pokémon must also be sleeping right now. 'How could I forget that the Pokémon would be asleep? I guess I should go back to my room before anyone notices me.'

Right at the moment Elijah laid his hand on the doorknob, one of the ceiling windows shattered into pieces. Three mysterious people jumped down through it, and landed on the ground. Elijah's heart started racing. They had landed behind some bushes, so he couldn't see what they were doing very well. He decided to stay at the door, and try to figure out what they were doing here.

"Here's a bag, go get as many Pokémon as you can. We don't have much time, so hurry up!" Elijah recognized the voice of a girl. She sounded very commanding, so she must have at least some power over the others. He heard one of the burglars walking through the grass, and for a moment he thought about turning on the lights, but then he realized that he wouldn't stand a chance against them. 'I'm just alone, without anything or anyone to protect me. They are three criminals, possibly very skilled. I have to make sure that they don't notice me.'

Suddenly, the cries of Pokémon broke the silence in the room. One of the criminals must have woken the sleeping Pokémon up, causing them to panic. Loud noises came from all directions, and within a few seconds, the entire Pokémon Resort was in chaos. "You idiot, I told you to keep everyone calm! Look at what you've done, everything was for nothing! Come on, let's just retreat before anyone sees us here!"

Before Elijah could get in action, the lights in the Climate Resort turned on, showing the chaos to everyone. Elijah looked behind, and saw Sycamore standing in the doorway, with his hand at the light switch. He didn't look like he was going to do something about them, and he would just let the criminals get away. 'But wait, their mission failed, so they don't have any Pokémon. There is no reason to take action.'

"Shauna, wait up! I got at least one of them!" One of the criminals ran back to the others, holding a Pokémon in his hands. Elijah's eyes shot wide open, and he started running towards them. His mind hadn't even had the chance to evaluate the situation, but his body already reacted to it. He had to save that Pokémon, no matter what. The criminal, who had a short and chubby posture, reached the other two burglars, and he attached a rope to his waist. 'They are going to use those ropes to get back out! They must be connected to something on the roof, and they'll use it to escape!'

Elijah ran faster as he knew he could, his mind only focused on the safety of the Pokémon. When he looked closer, he saw that the burglar was holding a Helioptile, an Electric type lizard Pokémon. The Helioptile struggled to escape from his arms, but it was no use. The burglar was already hanging above the ground, slowly approaching the hole in the ceiling.

He jumped, and clutched onto the legs of a different criminal. For a moment, Elijah feared that the rope would break, but it seemed to hold their weight. "Trevor, look down! You've got someone hanging under you!" For some reason, the female criminal noticed him earlier, but it didn't matter. They were already outside, and Elijah let go of his legs. He stood on the edge on the Pokémon Lab itself, at least ten meters above the ground. A fall from that height could easily be lethal, and with the strong wind blowing, that scenario was very vivid for Elijah.

The criminals stood together, on the other side of the large hole in the windowed ceiling. Below them was the Pokémon Climate Resort, where Professor Sycamore tried to calm down all the panicking Pokémon. There was no way Elijah could get to them without falling into the pit. They would get away with the poor Helioptile, and he would just be standing here, helpless, waiting for someone to get him off the roof. Elijah felt the anger rising inside of him.

'There is nothing I can do to help them, but maybe Helioptile can do something. I just have to hope that he will obey me, even though I'm not his trainer.' Elijah made eye contact with the Helioptile, and the Helioptile looked back at him, with scared and wide opened eyes. "Helioptile, use Thundershock on the burglars!" The Helioptile had to think about that order for a while. Then, he started glowing brightly, and tiny sparks came from his body. Elijah heard Shauna yelling at the other criminal: "You idiot! Let that Pokémon go before it shocks us all!"

The Pokémon jumped out of his arms, straight over the gap, and landed on Elijah's shoulder. The three criminals quickly made their escape, while Elijah concerned himself over the Helioptile. 'They didn't take any Pokémon with them, so I don't have a reason to follow them. However, if I ever see them again, I will get them back for this. Helioptile seems to be fine though, so I'm happy.'

A few meters ahead of him, Elijah saw Professor Sycamore standing on the roof. He quickly ran up to him, with the Helioptile still on his shoulder. Sycamore was smiling at him, despite all that had happened. "Well then, Eli- eh, sorry, I wouldn't use that name anymore. Anyway, I think we have found your perfect partner for on your Pokémon journey!" Elijah's mouth fell open. He couldn't believe that after all this, he would still receive a Pokémon to travel with.

"But Professor Sycamore, what about the damage? I mean the broken glass and all..." Sycamore waved it all away, as if it was nothing: "Don't you worry about that, that's all my personal problem. Go back to bed, and catch some more sleep. You'll need it, especially after all these crazy events. And don't forget, tomorrow is the day your Pokémon adventure really begins!"


	4. Rejected

"_Get in the Pokémon Center and disable the machines" Lysandre's mission were never complicated. He would make sure that everyone would understand it, so that the plan could succeed. I will never forget that one mission, never in my life. I remember how we left from Lysandre Labs, straight to the back entrance of the Pokémon Center. I can still see how I looked through the window, as if it happened right before my eyes. There she was; the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She stood at the counter, while her Pokémon were healed up by Nurse Joy. Her long blonde hair, her bright blue eyes, just everything about her was perfect. She was so astounding, that I completely forgot about the mission, until one of my roommates dragged me away from the window. From that day, every time I walked outside, I would look for her, hoping that I could see her again. But I never got to meet her after all…_

"Why won't you accept my challenge?" Elijah stood right in front of Viola, the Bug type Gym Leader. He wanted to challenge her, and hopefully receive his very first gym badge, but Viola simply refused to battle him. "I don't trust anyone who is part of Team Flare. I'm sure that this is just a trick to distract me, while the rest of you steal my Pokémon. If you think I would fall for that, you were terribly mistaken." Elijah was furious. How many time did he have to explain that he is no longer a member of Team Flare?

At that moment, someone else joined the conversation: "Isn't it your job as a Gym Leader to accept any battle request you receive, no matter the challenger?" Elijah turned his head, and he immediately recognized the girl. This was the girl he saw during one of his many missions. The girl who he had been looking for all the time, yet he could never find her. And here she was, standing right next to him in the Santalune City Gym.

Viola was not very pleased with her sudden appearance: "Serena, what are you doing here? You left only five minutes ago, you have nothing to do here!" The beautiful girl calmly walked past Viola, and picked a hat from the table. "I forgot my hat, so I decided to come back for it, and then I saw you two arguing here. I just couldn't resist joining in." Elijah watched everything in awe. He still couldn't believe that the girl he had been dreaming of so many times, was standing right next to him. He felt like he could take on the world now.

Viola was focused on her camera, constantly trying to get the view right. It gave the impression that she couldn't be less interested. "Besides, battling you would only be a waste of time. Team Flare members never take good care of their Pokémon, so there's no way you could possibly defeat me!" At that point, Elijah snapped. He grabbed the camera and threw it on the ground, shattering it in countless pieces. Serena and Viola both looked at him, shocked by his sudden anger.

"All I want from you is to listen to what I have to say, but even that is too much for you! I am not part of Team Flare anymore, I left the group to follow my own dreams! I want to become a successful person, instead of a meaningless grunt! But I can't fulfill any of that if nobody gives me a chance! So please, allow me to fight you! I promise that it won't disappoint you!" Elijah breathed heavily, completely taken over by his own rage.

Viola was still shocked heavily by his rage. A hint of fear was even hearable in her voice: "Fine then, we will battle tomorrow. Right now, I need time to fix my camera, if that is even possible. Please leave the Gym via the back door." After that, she dropped on her knees and started to collect the pieces. Elijah felt guilty and wanted to help her, but Serena grabbed his hand and dragged him away from her. Once there were outside the Gym, she let go of his hand.

"You really have to change your attitude if you want to become successful. Destroying people's property is not a good way to introduce yourself to the world." Elijah vaguely heard Serena's words, but he was mostly caught up in her beauty. He knew that she was right, and he tried to focus on what she said. "I suppose you don't have any place to stay either? Come with me, you can stay at my house for the night." Once again, Elijah followed her.

'Serena is such a nice girl. I'm almost certain that she didn't even see me that time at the Pokémon Center, so I'm a total stranger to her. Yet, she is inviting me to her house, even providing me of a place to sleep!' Elijah's mind had turned into an unstoppable train of thoughts, rushing by at the speed of light. After a while, they reached Vaniville Town. Serena stopped at the main square and turned around. "Tell me, what Pokémon do you even have?"

Elijah grabbed his only Pokéball and threw it in the air. Helioptile was glad to be out again, and ran a few circles around Serena and Elijah before climbing on his shoulder. "This is my first and only Pokémon; Helioptile. I received him from Professor Sycamore after I saved him from a group of thieves." Serena looked at the Helioptile, who carefully reached his hand out for her. "Wow, you saved this little guy? I suppose you really are a good guy then. Anyway, I am sure that you can defeat Viola with him, but you need some training."

'Training. I haven't used Helioptile in a single battle yet, apart from the time on the Pokémon Lab. Serena is right, I really have to train a lot more if I want to win in battle.' Serena smiled at Helioptile. "Don't worry, I can help you. I have quite a few Pokémon myself, so I think I can find the perfect opponent for your little Helioptile. Let's do some training right now, before we head to my house!"


	5. Energetic

_"She'll start off with her Surskit, which should be no match for your Helioptile. Make sure that you don't waste your energy then, that's what she wants you to do. She'll follow up with Vivillon, her ace, and by far her most powerful Pokémon. Go all-out on the Vivillon, that will be your only chance. Helioptile can maybe take one hit, but no more than that. I'm sure you can do it, just go for it and win!"_

The night seemed to have lasted forever, but finally it was time for Eljiah to battle Viola for his first badge. Serena told him all her secrets, everything about her battle style and strategy. She also helped Helioptile get a bit better at fighting. Nothing could possibly go wrong now. Eljiah stepped inside the Pokémon Gym, where Viola was already awaiting him. She still wasn't happy with his challenge, but she had no other choice but to accept it.

"Couldn't you have chosen a different day to start your amazing journey?" Viola's voice had an annoyed tone to it. "As you know, the battle arena has no roof, and it has been raining all day. We'll fight at the side area instead." Eljiah nodded, and followed Viola to the smaller side area of the battle arena. They each stood on another side, and prepared for the battle. Eljiah remembered all the things Serena had told her. He wasn't going to lose his first important match.

"Let's get this over with as quickly as possible." Viola threw the first Pokéball, and the Surskit appeared on the field… At least, that was what Eljiah expected to happen. But instead, Viola had decided to start off with her ace, Vivillon. "I know that Serena told you my strategy, so I changed things up a little. Prepare to lose, team Flare grunt." Those words drilled straight into his mind. Once again, she had called him by his former name, a name he never wanted to be remembered of again. No matter what, he had to win this battle to prove himself. "Helioptile, go all-out! Thundershock!"

Helioptile began to glow, as an electric current appeared around his body. He sprinted toward Vivillon, and jumped up into the air. They both attacked each other at the same time as they collided in mid-air; Vivillon with Tackle, Helioptile with Thundershock. They both flew back, but Helioptile immediately got back up. Eljiah told him to continue by using Pound, but then he noticed he was stuck in place. Tiny bugs were crawling all of his body, making him incapable of movement.

"Enjoy my Infestation while I finish this battle!" Viola shouted, with the sound of victory clearly hearable in her voice. But Eljiah hadn't lost the battle quite yet: "Shake off the bugs with Tail Whip!" Helioptile did as he was ordered, and he was right in time to avoid Vivillon's Tackle. At this point, Helioptile was already getting a bit tired, but he wasn't going to give up quite yet. He put all his energy in a super powerful Thundershock, and struck the Vivillon. It flew back all the way to Viola, where it landed right in front of her.

"Fine then, you've beaten my ace. But that's okay. I still have one more Pokémon to deal with that Helioptile of yours." She didn't give Eljiah any time to think of a new strategy, and instantly sent out her Surskit. He realized that this had been her plan all along: confuse him with the change of Pokémon, then tire Helioptile out with Vivillon, so that Surskit could easily finish it. It was incredibly mean and unfair, but not against the rules. "I give you one last chance. Get your Pokémon, turn around and go back to team Flare. Maybe, if you're in luck, they will still accept you."

At that point, Eljiah lost his mind. The constant reminder that he used to be a part of team Flare infuriated him so much, that he simply couldn't take it anymore. But Serena warned him for this: "She'll try to drive you insane, but try to ignore it. If you let her get to you, you'll get reckless, which means you'll probably lose. Use your energy to think, to come up with a strategy that will help you and Helioptile win the battle!" Eljiah could hear her voice clear in his mind. He quickly glanced around, trying to find a way to escape this loss. Suddenly, he saw his way out.

"Run to the main area, Helioptile! It's our only chance!" Helioptile avoided his opponent, and entered the open arena. The rain fell on his body, which gave him a weird feeling. Surskit increased his pace, making him too fast to follow with their own eyes. Viola laughed at him: "What good will that do for you? All you did is power up my Surskit! Its Swift Swim will only make your defeat even quicker, but if that is what you want, that's fine with me. Surskit, finish him with Bubble!" Eljiah showed a smile on his face, as he watched how his Pokémon got hit by the storm of bubbles.

As the bubbles disappeared, Viola's eyes shot wide open. Helioptile should've fainted after that direct hit, but instead he stood there, looking even better than before. Now it was Eljiah's time to smile. "Two words, Viola. Dry Skin." Helioptile charged up another Thundershock, and waited for the Surskit to hit. As soon as it came rushing in with a Quick Attack, Helioptile released his energy, knocking the Surskit all the way back to Viola. The sudden change in lead was a big shock for Viola, but Eljiah knew he had won definitely, and would now receive his first official badge.

"I don't know how, but you've done it… Maybe you aren't that bad of a person after all… Here, take this badge and go." She put the shining emblem in Eljiah's hand, which he greatly accepted. Not just the badge, but the fact that Viola acknowledged his skills as a trainer really made him proud. With new energy, he exited the Gym building, where Serena was already awaiting him. When he showed her the badge, she jumped a bit into the air from happiness. "I knew you could do it! Come on, we have to celebrate this!" She took his arm and dragged him to her house, where they stayed the rest of the day, and they had a great celebration meal.


	6. Back to the start

"So eh, S-Serena, what are your plans for now?" He could hear his voice stutter, but Eljiah was determined to ask her this. It was his only chance. Serena shrugged, just like what he had expected. She never really had any concerns about the future, which Eljiah envied. He was always looking forward to something, but she could just live in the present without a thing to worry about. "W-Well, if you'd like to, you could of course come along with me! I'd like some company, and you're really nice and smart, so eh-" Even before he could finish his sentence, Serena gratefully accepted his offer. Something told him that she was secretly already hoping for it, and he was proud of himself for daring to ask it.

The weather was amazing. A bright sun shined on their heads, with not a single cloud in the sky. Helioptile also really seemed to enjoy the sunny weather, as he was more energetic than ever before. He kept jumping from Eljiah's to Serena's shoulders and back, like he couldn't remain motionless for more than five seconds. Eljiah thought about how much they looked like a couple right now. The only thing that could've completed the picture even more was if they were holding hands.

"What are you blushed for?" Serena's question made him snap back into reality. "Eh, nothing, really! I was just lost in my thoughts." Serena chuckled. "You sure were, you haven't said a word in a long time! Come on, let's hurry, Lumiose City should be around the corner!" She increased her pace, and Eljiah followed right behind her. They were going back to Lumiose City, to tell professor Sycamore about the great news. Well, that was why Eljiah wanted to go back, at least. Serena probably just wanted to go shopping there, which was fine with him.

As soon as they entered the city, Serena's eyes widened, going from left to right, checking out all the possible shops to go. "Hey, I really want to go shopping, I hope you don't mind it. Let's meet up at Sycamore's Lab, okay?" Eljiah nodded, already knowing that would be her plan. Serena left, and within seconds she was lost in the crowd of people. He walked onwards to the Pokémon Lab, wanting to prove Sycamore that he didn't make a mistake when he entrusted him with Helioptile.

As soon as the doors closed behind him, a wave of peaceful silence came over him. Finally, he was freed from the loud and noisy crowd on the streets of Lumiose. Immediately, he was noticed by Brandon, the male scientist from the Lab. "Oh ho, look who's back! It's the team Flare boy! And, tell me, how did your little adventure go?" Eljiah flashed his shiny new badge, and Brandon's mouth literally fell open. "H-How did you... You actually got a... A badge?" Eljiah just smiled, and walked past him, satisfied with his reaction.

Elijah wasn't egoistic or anything like that, not at all. He was one of the most humble persons you'd ever see. The only thing he couldn't handle was when people wouldn't trust or believe him. Then, he'd do anything and everything he could, just so he could prove them wrong. And most of the times, he succeeded in it too, which made him happier than anything else. The satisfaction he got from seeing Brandon's mouth fall open, was impossibly compared with anything else. It was just amazing to see.

No matter where he looked, professor Sycamore was nowhere to be found, and nor was Clara. Eventually, Eljiah decided to go to the Pokémon Climate Resort. As soon as he walked inside of the grassy field, a Fennekin ran up to him and jumped into his arms, pushing Helioptile away. He didn't mind it though, as he went back to his old friends in the Resort. Eljiah petted the Fennekin a little more, before hearing Sycamore's loud voice somewhere on the other side of the Resort: "Clara, watch out!", followed by a the sound of something metal falling on the ground.

Eljiah immediately hurried in the direction the sound came from, while still holding Fennekin in his arms. Professor Sycamore climbed down from a huge ladder that reached all the way up to the ceiling. "Hey, you're back already? I didn't expect you to return this soon! What happened?" Eljiah proudly showed him the Bug Badge he received from Viola. Unlike Brandon, professor Sycamore just smiled at him. "I knew you could do it, there was no way you'd fail. Me and Clara just finished repairing the hole in the ceiling, that´s what you probably heard. Listen, why don't you come with me to the room across the hall, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Eljiah followed the Pokémon professor, and they sat down in one of the many couches the room had. "That Fennekin you're holding, she really seems to like you, doesn't she?" He had already forgotten he was still holding the rare Pokémon, but Fennekin didn't seem to mind it. "Eh, yes, I'm sorry about that. Should I put her back in the Resort?" Sycamore shook his head. "No, that's not what I was getting at. I've been concerned about Fennekin's health for a few days. She has been very sick, and didn't want to play with any of the other Pokémon in the Resort anymore. Now that I see you with here, it all suddenly makes sense. Eljiah, would you like to take Fennekin with you on your journey?"

The Fennekin looked at Eljiah with a smile on her face. He wondered if she'd understood what professor Sycamore had said, because it seemed like she did. Eljiah nodded at the professor: "Yes, I'd love it! And I'm sure Fennekin would like to come with me as well." Again, the Pokémon professor smiled at him. It seemed like, no matter what he asked, he really already knew the answer. That smile was his satisfaction of correctly predicting the outcome of the situation. "Fine, then that's setled. Now that you have your first official starter Pokémon, you can truly begin your journey. There will still be a lot of people who don't trust you, but I know you can change their minds, Eljiah. You can do that, I'm sure of it."


	7. Parfume Palace Peril

"Can someone please tell me why everyone is panicking?" Eljiah tried to figure out what was going on, but all the citizens of Camphrier Town were too busy to talk. Serena pointed at the Pokémon Center: "Maybe Nurse Joy will know what is happening, she's always calm and friendly." Eljiah nodded, and followed her. Inside was nobody, except for Nurse Joy herself. It was weird seeing a Pokémon Center almost abandoned, as there usually were at least ten people at all times. Lucky for them, she could explain where the massive panic attack came from: "You see, the Parfume Palace is nearby, where Pokémon Champion Diantha resides. Today, she will be coming back from her trip to Unova, but a Snorlax suddenly appeared on the bridge, blocking the road. On top of that, the Pokéflute suddenly disappeared too, which is said to be the only thing capable of awakening Snorlax. If they find out who has the Pokéflute, they can get rid of the Snorlax, and the thief will be punished severely."

Eljiah immediately had an idea of who could be behind this. The trio of criminals who had attempted to steal Pokémon from Sycamore's Lab wouldn't be afraid of messing with the schedule of the Pokémon Champion either. They had absolutely no sense of respect whatsoever. Although he'd rather just turn around and walk away safely, Eljiah knew that he had to do something. He tried to think like them, and figured out where they were. There must be a reason why they wanted Diantha to arrive later. Suddenly, everything made sense to him. "Serena, let's go to the Parfume Palace, maybe we can find out more there." Serena nodded, but deep inside she was worried that something would happen to her friend.

The Parfume Palace was in one word humongous. Although it was already getting quite dark outside, two giant lanterns showed the gigantic building off in a bright light. Only a true Pokémon Champion could live in a castle like this. Despite the chaos in the town, guards were standing at the gate, ready to attack any intruders. But something told Eljiah that the Kalos Trio wouldn't let themselves be thrown off by something as simple as a few guards. They would find their way around it, and so would he. "Listen Serena, I know who stole the Pokéflute. As a matter of fact, I'm almost completely certain they are inside the palace right now. We have to find a way to sneak inside." Serena looked around, trying to help her friend out. No matter from what side she looked at the situation, the guards would surely notice them. There was no way they'd get around them...

"Unless if we make sure they can't see anything at all!" Eljiah gave her a questioning look. "Oh, sorry, I'm thinking out loud again." He noticed that Serena blushed, though that could've been just the lights playing with his view. "Anyway, I think there's a way we can get around those guards, but we need both Helioptile and Fennekin for that." Eljiah didn't know her plan, but he trusted her fully. Helioptile jumped over to her shoulder, and she received Fennekin's Pokéball as well. "Okay, Helioptile, can you turn one of the big lanterns off from here?" Helioptile nodded, and did exactly that. The light slowly went out, which distracted the guards from their work. They were both staring at the lantern, trying to find out why it suddenly went off. And that's exactly what Serena wanted: "Helioptile, now, full power on both lanterns!"

Her plan was genius. Both guards were staring at the seemingly broken lantern, when suddenly it turned on again at full power. They were looking straight into the brightest point of the light, blinding them temporarily. Because of the emount of energy Helioptile had put in the lanterns, they both bursted, leaving them in complete darkness. Now, with the guards still blinded, they had a free entrance to the gates, but only for a very short time. Eljiah and Serena quickly ran up to the gate, but there was still something keeping them away from the entrance. A huge lock was preventing the gate from opening, but even that was taken care of: "Fennekin, use Ember on the lock so it melts off!" Fennekin obeyed, and the heavy lock fell on the ground. "Come on El, let's go!" Eljiah paused for a moment. She had called him El, a special nickname she came up with. To other people it probably wouldn't mean much, but it made him feel warm inside. "No Serena, you should go back to the Pokémon Center. If something goes wrong, and they find us here, they'll throw us both in jail. I don't care about myself, but I don't want anything to happen to you."

Eljiah quickly ran up the massive stairs, heading for the upper floor of the Parfume Palace. While he was running through the hallway, he realized that to be fair, he had no idea where he was going. He'd swear that he passed the exact same hallway for the third time now. He decided to take a different approach, and stood silent, listening around. This tactic had much more succes, because he immediately heard familiar voices a while further. There was no doubt that these voices were indeed the same criminals he had encountered at Sycamore's lab. Eljiah ran up tot the room where the voices were the loudest, and opened the door. There, next to a big opened window, were the Kalos Trio, filling up a bag with golden properties and other valuable items. "Dang it, it's the Flare grunt again! Seriously dude, what's wrong with you? Stay out of our way, will you?" The girl in charge was clearly annoyed, but she didn't even attempt to attack Eljiah at all. "Come on guys, we have better things to do then this." She gestured the others to follow. "But Shauna, what about all the stuff?" Shauna grinned: "The guards are coming. Leave it be for our amazing Flare friend to solve." After that, they each jumped out of the window, descending using a rope.

As soon as they had left, Eljiah started searching through the bag, until he had found the Pokéflute. As he got back up, the door opened again, but this time it were the two guards from before. Only now, Eljiah realized what Shauna had meant. From the guards' perspective, Eljiah had sneaked inside the Parfume Palace, stolen the Pokéflute, and filled up a bag of valuable stuff, hoping to escape with it. He cursed to himself for getting into trouble again, but this wasn't the time for self-pity. He only needed the Pokéflute, the rest of the items could stay here. He jumped out of the window, just like the Kalos Trio had done, and realized his next big mistake. Of course they had removed the rope, and now there was nothing to grab on to. He landed painfully, and he clearly heard something break. He tried to get up, but his left arm wasn't moving at all. The fall had broken his arm, and was now nothing but dead weight to his body. But that was something to take care of later, now he had to do something about the situation he was in. He couldn't end up in jail, not now.

He could hear the guards yelling behind him as he ran away from the palace, carefully holding on to the Pokéflute with his still functioning arm. He didn't feel his left arm at all anymore, but that was probably due to the adrenaline that was pumping through his vains right then. He reached the junction that lead him back to Camphrier Town, but he decided to take the other route. Soon enough, he found a huge crowd of people, standing in a circle around the huge sleeping Snorlax. He made his way through the crowd, and, heavily breathing with every few words, shouted: "I found the Pokéflute! A trio of criminals had attempted to steal it from the Parfume Palace, and I managed to retrienve it!" He held the flute up high, and a tall man immediately took it out of his hand and started playing. The Snorlax woke up almost instantly, and slowly walked away from the road. Eljiah was seen as a hero, but only until the guards had caught up with him.

"This young boy is the one who stole the Pokéflute! We've seen him trying to steal even more properties as well, but luckily we were fast enough to stop him." The crowd was shocked, and they all looked at Eljiah. He didn't know what to say, but someone spoke up for him. It was Serena, who had came back for him is just the right time: "So you claim that this guy, who just solved all of our problems by finding the Pokéflute, broke straight into the Parfume Palace, all by himself, and nearly got away with a lot of stolen goods? What were you two doing then, weren't you supposed to prevent that from happening?" Eljiah couldn't believe his ears. Serena was able to talk so skillfully, she could achieve pretty much anything just with words. Now, everyone's attention was turned back to the guards, who stuttered and tried to make up excuses for their bad performances. Serena winked at Eljiah, but then noticed how much pain he was having. The adrenaline boost was over, and now he got the full pain of his broken arm. "El, what happened? We have to get you treated immediately!"


	8. Encounter in Connection Cave

"Camphrier Town doesn't have any kind of hospital. You'll find your best bet in Ambrette Town, there's a route leading you there, through a cave." Eljiah's arm was starting to hurt very badly, but there was simply nobody here who could help him. The only healthcare center was the Pokécenter, and Nurse Joy had absolutely no experience with healing other people. He decided that moving on was their only realistic option, much to Serena's dislike: "No way, you're going to keep walking with that arm? I can see by the look on your face how much it hurts, don't try to hide it from me!" Eventually, she realized there wasn't any reasoning with Eljiah once he had decided something, so she just went with it. Together, they left Camphrier Town behind, and set foot to their next destination.

As they were walking towards the Connection Cave, Serena remembered something she wanted to tell her friend. "Hey, Eljiah? While you were inside the Parfume Palace, I wanted to go back to Camphrier Town and wait for you. However, the guards had called reinforcements, so I had to flee into the bushes." Eljiah looked at her again. He hadn't noticed it before, but there were small scratches all over her face, probably from running through the bushes. The thought of a girl like Serena being forced to harm herself to escape getting caught made him angry. Someone like her shouldn't have to go through that, and it was his fault that she had to. "But while I was running," Serena continued, "I suddenly heard three people coming closer quickly. I hid deep in the grass, my heart was pounding in my chest all the time. I heard them saying something about a kid ruining their plans again, forcing them to leave. Were they talking about you, Eljiah?"

Eljiah looked up to the sky. The clouds were getting darker, meaning that it was going to rain soon. They would have to hurry if they wanted to reach Ambrette Town dry. "Yes, that was about me. I encountered them for the first time in Sycamore's Lab, they were trying to steal Pokémon." Suddenly, he realized that at that moment, he was nothing better than them. He also broke into his lab with the intention of stealing a Pokémon. It's just a case of lucky coincidence that they were at the same place at the same time. "In a weird way, I have to thank them. If it wasn't for their evil intentions, I wouldn't have received my first Pokémon. All of the things I've experienced so far, and the things I will see in the future, they are all responsible for it, even though they won't have a clue about that." The cave was just about five minutes walking distance away when the first raindrops started to come down. They increased their pace, and right as they got inside, the rain got heavier.

"I wish I had brought a flashlight or something, it's pitch black in here." Serena rolled her eyes: "Come on El, haven't you learned anything? You have a Fire type Pokémon, and you're complaining because it's too dark? You'll never be a Pokémon Master like that!" He realized that he was still not entirely used to living with Pokémon. Back in Team Flare, Pokémon were only used as fighting tools. For everything else, they had their own equipment. Luckily for him, he had a smart girl by his side to help him with everything he needed. He got the Pokéball out of his pocket, and threw it in the dark. "Fennekin, can you light this cave a bit for me?" A small flame was enough to at least see where they were going. Eljiah looked at Serena. Her face looked beautiful in the light of the fire. He couldn't keep his eyes away from her, which caused him to miss a big rock right in front of him. He tripped, and fell right on his broken arm. He screamed loudly, which woke up a horde of nearby Zubats. They started flying all around Serena, making her run around while swinging with her arms in the air. She tripped over the same rock that Eljiah had hit, and she fell on him.

"What is going on he-" A female doctor had heard their screams, and immediately rushed to the source. What she encountered was two teenagers laying straight on top of each other in a barely lit cave. Serena got off Eljiah as quickly as she could. Even in the light of the small flame Fennekin was producing, it was very obvious how hard she was blushing. "Y-You see, we just got here, and then my friend fell, and the Zubats, and then-" The doctor burst out in laughter. "Spare me your excuses, I don't need my medical degree to figure out what was going on here!" Serena contained her anger. It wasn't worth raging right now. "Wait, did you say you have a medical degree? Can you help my friend, his arm is broken. We were trying to get to Ambrette Town to get it healed, but we decided to hide here until the rain was over." The doctor smiled, and kneeled down next to Eljiah. "Sure, you were just 'hiding' here, I get it. Anyway, let me see that arm."

After she had put a splint around Eljiah's arm, they walked together to the end of the cave. The rain had stopped, and Ambrette Town was already in sight below them, right next to a long beach. Before they left, Serena asked the doctor something she had been wondering from the moment they met: "Once again, thanks for all your help, but what brought you here in the first place?" The doctor smiled again, which she did pretty much all the time. "I was just doing some research about my favorite Pokémon, Zubat!" Eljiah looked at her confused. "Your favorite Pokémon is Zubat?" She nodded. "They're so cute, how can you not love them?" He had nothing to reply with. This woman was too crazy for words. He and Serena left the cave and the crazy doctor behind, and left for Ambrette Town.


	9. A painful reunion

The view on the sea was amazing. Eljiah could look at it forever. Back in Team Flare, they never took time to enjoy anything. It was always mission after mission, working towards Lysandre's great goal, whatever that may be. He couldn't stop himself from thinking back of his days as a grunt, but not even once did he regret his decision. "Whenever I see my former roommates again, they'll be looking up to me. I'll make that sure." He smiled, and heared footsteps behind him. Serena put a hand on his shoulder, and admired the view with him for a while. He enjoyed these silent moments with her, it really was something special. After a while, Serena broke the silence: "There is a very skilled doctor here, who could easily heal your arm in a matter of hours. However, he is currently off to the Glittering Cave for something. There is someone who is willing to help us get there, but he says he won't go in the cave with us." She sounded disappointed that he still couldn't be healed. Eljiah waited a few more moments before he replied: "What is it with doctors and caves in this region?"

When they arrived at the route leading to the Glittering Cave, they saw what kind of lift was awaiting them. A Rhyhorn stood next to a hiker, who was waving at them enthusiastically. They ran over to him, although Serena suddenly had gotten a lot less excited about their trip. "I was wondering how much longer me and Rhyhorn here had to keep waiting for you two!" The hiker spoke with an incredibly loud voice, almost blowing them away. "Okay, so, here's the deal. You can take my Rhyhorn and ride to the Glittering Cave, as long as you bring it back. I'm a real friendly guy, but if my Pokémon isn't back before sunset, I'm afraid I'll have to become a lot less nice." The hiker looked Eljiah right in the eyes, as if he assumed that that was his plan all along. "Don't take him inside the cave, or he might get lost." Finally, he turned to Serena: "And I don't know how hardcore your boyfriend is, but if I were you I'd hold on tight, because it can get rough around here." Eljiah looked at Serena. She blushed, but said nothing about the hiker calling him her boyfriend. They got on the back of the Rhyhorn, and left the hiker behind.

Eljiah wished the road were a million times longer. The feeling of Serena's arms around his waist made him feel warm inside. Unfortunately for him, the road was short, and soon they were standing in front of Glittering Cave. Serena's face was still a bit red from having to hold her friend so tightly, but she tried to hide it as much as she could. "Come on, let's go. The sooner we get through the cave, the sooner we're out. Together, they walked inside. Eljiah already had his hand on Fennekin's Pokéball, expecting another pitch-black cave, but that wasn't the case. Strange, crystal-like balls were sticking out of the walls, emitting a blue light. It wasn't exactly easy to navigate, but it was definitely above his expectations. A few times they stopped, because they thought they heard voices. They quickly realized it was just their minds playing with them, so they just ignored it.

"Is it just me, or have we taken every possibly wrong turn so far?" Serena's feet were starting to hurt from walking, which they had been doing for hours. Every turn looks the same, so Serena got the idea to leave a mark on the ground every time they went left or right. They often had to walk back because of a dead end, but they hadn't encountered any of their previously made marks, meaning that they were still making progress. After what seemed to be an eternity, they finally reached an open room. As they walked into the more open area, Eljiah heard something. "Serena, do you hear that too? It sounds like...a crying child!" As soon as he had said that, he ran to the source of the sound. What he encountered was not a child, but a Pokémon, crying in a corner. Eljiah kneeled down next to it, and put his hand on its shoulder.

Immediately, a warm feeling shot through his body, something he had never experienced before. He suddenly felt scared, for reasons he couldn't explain. He felt like someone was chasing him, driving him in a corner. With a shock, he realized that these weren't his own, but those of the Pokémon! "Hey El, that Pokémon... I'm sure I've heard its name before, why can't I think of it now? Why is my memory so bad?" Eljiah was too busy with the Pokémon to even hear Serena talking. The Pokémon turned its face, and he saw its red eyes staring at him. "Serena, this Pokémon, it- no, she, is scared of something. I know it, because I can feel it too. There must be something, or perhaps even someone, who must have sc-" A powerful force in his back ended his sentence, and smacked him on the rock-hard floor.

"Hey Vapor, look what I found!" Eljiah heard footsteps coming closer, until they were right next to his head. A hand grabbed his hair and pulled his head up. He looked right into the hideous face of someone he couldn't ever forget, not in his entire life. A wide grin appeared on his face, all the way from one end to the other. "Zero! Hahaha, long time no see buddy!" He pulled his hair even harder, so he was sitting on his knees. "We were in for quite the surprise when we woke up! A simple letter, that was all? I expected more from you, you worthless being!" Eljiah received a kick in his stomach, making him bend over. "Hey Brute, how about we just take that lovely lady over there and get out of here, eh?" Eljiah immediately knew they were talking about Serena. He couldn't allow anything bad to happen to her, no matter what. He tried to get up, but instantly dropped down again. He was hurt so badly that he couldn't even do that much. His former roommates, the ones who he swore would look up to him, were going to take off with her, and he didn't do anything about it.

Suddenly, he felt a small hand touching him. He lifted his face, and the Pokémon from before looked into his eyes. She placed her hand on his cheek, and another warm feeling travelled through his body. He still didn't know exactly what it was that he felt, but somehow they were able to share emotions just by touching. The Pokémon slowly walked towards Vapor, who was holding Serena. As soon as he noticed her, he let go of Serena and quickly stepped backwards. "B-Brute, that Pokémon is out to kill me, I can see it in its eyes!" The cave was to dark to see anything clearly, but by the sounds of it, the Pokémon was dealing some real damage to Vapor. When the fighting sounds stopped, he heard the deep voice of Brute: "Vapor, I got it! Boss is going to be so pleased with us when we show them this Mawile! Maybe we'll even get..." That was the last thing Eljiah could hear. His injuries finally got the upper hand, and he fainted.


	10. Gone Missing

"W-Who are you?" Eljiah stared at the beautiful Pokémon standing in front of him. It was bright white, with a scythe-shaped horn on top of its head. Everywhere he looked was just plain white, nothing else. This place, it just couldn't be real. Eljiah looked down, but there was nothing there either, not even his own legs. He tried moving, and realized that he was completely immobile. He had no body to move. He was merely able to look at this Pokémon, whose horn started emitting a golden light. It got brighter and brighter, until he couldn't see the Pokémon anymore. Suddenly, he saw scenes flashing in front of his eyes. A giant tower, a cave, some other things he couldn't quite make out. Then, he heard a gunshot, and everything went black.

Elijah opened his eyes, and was immediately greeted by a blinding white light. He blinked a few times before he was able to properly look around, although it didn't take him long to realize what had happened. He dropped his head back onto the pillow. "Viper and Brute knocked me right into the hospital. That's not how I planned our encounter to go at all. And they got away with that Pokémon too, I think they called it a Mawile. I wonder what happened to-" he quickly jumped up from his bed, causing a blinding headache. "Serena..." He tried to get out of his bed, but he lost his balance and fell on the floor. A Pokémon ran up to him and helped him back on his feet. Slowly, Eljiah turned his head and looked at his formerly broken right arm, and with a huge shock, he realized that it wasn't broken anymore. In fact, his right arm was entirely gone.

Nurse Joy came running in through the door. "Oh my, I'm so so sorry! Are you all right?" Eljiah's headache hadn't lifted yet, and Joy's loud voice didn't help that. "You really have to lay back down again, you can't go out yet!" She grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back into the bed, but Eljiah slapped her arm away and stood back up. "I don't care what I can and can't do, just tell me what you did to my arm!" Nurse Joy was clearly shocked by his angry reaction, as she hastily took a step backwards. "L-Look, I tried everything I could, really! It's just that, when you were carried inside, I sincerely thought you had already died. It took an entire day and night of nonstop working to get you back in the state you are now. Your arm was crushed so badly, I really couldn't do anything about it anymore. I'm so sorry..." Tears appeared in her eyes, and Eljiah realized his reaction had been much too harsh. If what she said was true, then she hadn't slept all night, just to keep him alive. Getting angry at her for not being able to save his arm wasn't justified.

"Thank you for saving my life. Without all of your effort, I most likely wouldn't have made it out alive. Tell me, who brought me here in the first place?" He figured that it had to be the doctor who they were searching in the cave, but he couldn't be sure. Nurse Joy smiled, happy that her patient wasn't angry anymore. "I was really surprised with what I saw too, but the one who carried you all the way over here is this little one here." She pointed at the Pokémon that helped him get up earlier. It was a Mienfoo, Eljiah recognized. Apparently, Lysandre used to have one of these, before it evolved of course. While he was also very confused about how a Pokémon not taller as one meter could carry him all the way to the hospital, he was more worried about Serena. The Mienfoo jumped on the bed, and pointed at a piece of paper that had been laying there all the time. Eljiah grabbed it and started reading. Each word he read hit him deeply with anger and rage.

_What's up Zero? How does it feel to be left behind with nothing but a note when you wake up? Doesn't feel good, eh? In fact, I doubt if you'll even survive your injuries, but I couldn't care any less. The world is better off without you anyway, so do us all a favor and die. Anyway, we took that Mawile, and we got your girlfriend too. She's really nice, isn't she? I'm sure she'll have a great time with us! I'm glad we got rid of you, now we will surely get our promotion from the big boss. Well, we'll be off now. See ya._

Eljiah threw the piece of paper aside, got up, and walked away, leaving Nurse Joy behind. He walked outside, but something pulled him back. It was the Mienfoo, who had followed behind to stop him. The look in its eyes calmed Eljiah down. He realized that randomly raging wouldn't help anyone, and it wasn't worth the time. The Mienfoo pointed up a hill, where he could see a statue that marked a Pokémon Gym. Beating the Gym was currently their only chance of moving forward, so he didn't have much of a choice. He started walking the long road that lead up the hill. By the time he reached the entrance to the Gym, he was already quite tired, even though the challenge hadn't even begun yet.

The room inside was nothing like what he expected. There were waterfalls on each side of the cave-like area, and a huge stone pillar in the center. A man was descending from the wall closest to him, presumably the Gym Leader. Eljiah walked near the wall, and waited for the man to come all the way down. Once he hit the ground with his feet, Grant unbuckled his safety belt dropped it on the ground. "So, you must be the Eljiah that Viola told me so much about. I have to say, I'm glad to finally be able to meet you! She got me curious about you." He reached out to shake his hand, before realizing that one of Eljiah's arms was missing. "I... I'm sorry, Viola told me nothing about that-" Before he could finish his sentence, Eljiah interrupted him. "It's a recent accident. Let's just say I met up with some old friends, and this was their welcoming present." Grant's mouth fell open. "You've got to be kidding me... You know what, Viola told me to not go easy on you, but this is ridiculous. I'll help you get up the pillar, we'll have the battle there." He pointed at a path that looked visibly easier to ascend as the path Grant took to get down. As they walked, Eljiah could hear him mumble a few words. "...Only at the second Gym, and already gone through so much... Some people just get all the bad luck..."


	11. New Powers

A soft wind blew through Eljiah's hair as he stood on top of the tall pillar, in the center of the Cyllage City Pokémon Gym. Gym Leader Grant walked to one end of the platform, while Eljiah stood on the other end. Grant was holding two Pokéballs, containing his opponents for the battle. "As a fan of hiking and climbing, I feel sorry for you and the loss of your right arm. I wish you the best of luck with everything you will encounter on your path. However..." Eljiah felt how the wind got a bit stronger. "As a Gym Leader, I can't give you any advantages. If you want to win this, you'll have to give it everything you've got. In this battle, we both will use two Pokémon, meaning that one of your partners is not allowed to participate. Now, without any further ado, let's begin this battle!" Grant threw his two Pokéballs high into the air, and from it emerged a Tyrunt and an Amaura, two fossil Pokémon. With his remaining left hand, Eljiah took two Pokéballs and threw them toward the center of the field. Fennekin and Mienfoo appeared from them.

Eljiah didn't come to this battle unprepared. He knew that Grant would use two Rock type Pokémon, so Mienfoo's sudden appearance came as a great help. One of his Pokémon would also be part Ice type, so Fennekin could deal with that. Unfortunately, Helioptile would have to stand back for this battle. Mienfoo seemed to be frozen in place, with its eyes closed, but that was part of Eljiah's plan. It was using Calm Mind, so its next attacks would be even more powerful, while Fennekin would protect it from the others. Amaura used Aurora Beam, which Fennekin instinctively dodged, and the move struck Mienfoo behind her. She used Fire Spin on the Tyrunt, who in return used Bite on her. Eljiah was trying to follow everything that was happening on the field, but it was difficult. Mienfoo came back into action, and used Swift. Both opposing Pokémon were hit by it, but it didn't do much. Fennekin used Flame Charge on Amaura, which did a little more damage, but still nothing much. Eljiah slowly realized that his Pokémon were getting weaker more quickly than Grant's. If nothing happened, they would lose the battle.

Amaura used Thunder Wave on Mienfoo, making it fall to the ground. It tried to get back up, but Tyrunt jumped into the air and landed right on it. There was no way Mienfoo was going to fight anymore, so Fennekin would have to do it all. She used Psybeam on Amaura, but again it didn't do much. Amaura and Tyrunt looked at each other, and at the exact same time, they used Rock Tomb on Fennekin. A storm rocks rushed at her, burying her under the heavy rocks. Eljiah jumped up and immediately ran toward the pile of rocks. With one hand, he hastily started removing the rocks, until he could pick up his Pokémon. Grant noticed that his opponent had tears in his eyes, and he felt bad for going all-out on him. Eljiah dropped to the ground, still holding Fennekin close to him. "I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have let you do this battle. I should've known that it was too much. I only just found Mienfoo too, he wasn't even ready to battle at all. I was being overconfident, and now this happened..." He slowly put his Pokémon on the floor and stood up. "Grant. You've won this battle, and I know the rules, but please give me another chance. I can't stop here, I need to go on. My friend was kidnapped by Team Flare, I at least have to save her! Please, I'm begging you, don't let me fail this!"

The Gym Leader closed his eyes and turned his head. He couldn't look him in the eyes, it was too painful to watch. "I'm sorry, Eljiah, but a loss is a loss. I can't make an exception for anyone, not even you. I'm so very sorry for you..." He looked at his two Pokémon, and then at Eljiah's. "But has the battle ended yet? Is this already a loss? Sure, it may seem like that final attack finished your Fennekin off, but look at her now. I don't think she's willing to give up yet!" Eljiah looked down, and saw that Fennekin had gotten back on her feet. She slowly walked forward, and the air around her started vibrating. Eljiah stepped aside as Fennekin started glowing, and a bright white light made him cover his eyes with his arm. He felt a wave of heat coming over him, and when he lowered his arm, he saw that his Pokémon was no longer standing there. Instead, she had transformed into Braixen, Fennekin's evolution. Braixen was much taller than her previous form, and she now stood on two legs. With her hands, she was holding two wooden sticks, with the tip of them being on fire. She threw both sticks at the two opposing Pokémon, leaving a trail of fire behind them. They both made a full circle around Amaura and Tyrunt before returning right into her hands. Then, a giant flame emerged from where Braixen was standing, and it shot towards Amaura, who was sent flying by the effect. Tyrunt managed to break free from the ring of fire, and jumped at Braixen, ready to bite her. But right before he reached her, she pointed her stick at him, and a pink beam shot out of it. Tyrunt flew backwards and landed on Amaura.

Grant called back his two Pokémon, and turned to Eljiah. "Well, I have to say, I didn't expect that! I was pretty concerned that you weren't going to make it, but I wanted to give you that last chance anyway. To think that your Pokémon still had enough energy to evolve and defeat both my partners, that was amazing! You definitely deserve my Gym badge, so take it!" He handed a small badge to Eljiah, which he gladly accepted. "Now, Eljiah, I have something very important to tell you." He came closer to Eljiah, and continued to whisper, as if he was scared that someone could hear them all the way up here. "Not far from here, there's a cave with walls like mirrors. There are rumors that there is one wall that is unlike the others, in that it holds a special secret of some kind. Now, I'm usually a pretty down-to-earth kind of guy, but for some reason I believe there is truth to this myth. So please, if you go through that cave, take some time to search for it. Again, I don't know why, but I feel like whatever you might find there can only be beneficial to you." With that being said, Grant lead Eljiah to the exit of the Gym.


	12. Reflected visions

"These stones... They are the graves of Pokémon sacrificed in a war over 3,000 years ago. A man took their lives in order to create a certain weapon that would end everything." Eljiah looked up into the sky. He had learned a lot of things about the history of Kalos back in Team Flare, however that couldn't have been without a reason. Perhaps Lysandre was planning something based on the story of the so-called ultimate weapon, he could try to reuse it or something like that. Eljiah tried not to think about it too much. His only concerns should be for Serena, saving her was his top priority. He was about to walk into the next area, when Helioptile made a hissing noise. Eljiah looked ahead, and saw two very familiar faces walking very close to him. He quickly hid behind one of the giant stones, hoping they wouldn't notice him.

"You think he's still alive?" It sounded like they stopped right on the other side of the rock Eljiah was hiding behind. "Of course not, didn't you see how he was laying there? His arm was trash, no way he could've gotten back up. Besides, that whole cave was a mess of dead ends, he would've bled to death long before he reached the exit. That guy will no longer be a bother to us." Eljiah heard them walking closer. He had to get away, or else they'd find him for sure, and who knows what they might do to him this time. He silently crawled away from the rock, carefully staying out of sight. There were rocks to hide at everywhere, but since he had no idea where they were going, no place was safe. He hid behind another rock, and saw how Viper and Brute walked exactly to where he had been standing only a moment ago. He heard Viper lighting a cigarette. "Besides, even if he survived, he'd better not show his face again, or I'll make sure he'll never move again." From where he was sitting, he could just see a glimpse of his two enemies. Brute had the same face as always, but Viper sure seemed happy with himself. "So Viper, what did you do with the cute girl we caught?" Viper looked up to him. "I tested her, but she's got no potential. Just a pretty face, that's all. I gave her off to the others, they can have her. Put her in labor in the power plant or something they said. Good riddance if you ask me." Brute was very disappointed with that answer. Suddenly, he looked straight at Eljiah. His eyes shot wide open, and he pushed Viper's shoulder. "I- T-There is- I swear I just- He's- I'm- Over there- You have to- I mean-" Viper clearly didn't understand his intentions, as he annoyingly shook Brute's hand from his shoulder and started walking back. "Come on, you idiot, before boss yells at us again. You don't want that, do you?" For a moment, Brute was trying to decide between following him or checking behind the rock, but he eventually chose for his friend. For the first time in what seemed to be an eternity, Eljiah breathed again.

After waiting until the coast was absolutely clear, Eljiah resumed his travels. He reached Geosenge Town, where he healed his Pokémon, but quickly left again. "Put to labor in the power plant... That's horrible... I have to save her as soon as I can." Not far from Geosenge Town was the entrance to Reflection Cave, through which he had to pass in order to get to the next city. He didn't really know what to expect from the cave, but he kept thinking about what Grant said. Something about a strange mystery hidden inside the cave, that he believed was true. Eljiah was determined to find it, wherever it was. As he stood in front of the entrance, he noticed nothing special. It seemed like a regular cave like any other, and without giving it a second thought, he walked inside. Immediately after he did so, everything turned dark. It wasn't like anyone was covering his eyes, or if he had gone blind. He could still see, but all the sources of light had suddenly disappeared. He looked behind, but even the entrance to the cave he had just passed through had disappeared. When he turned his head back, he noticed a white Pokémon in front of him. This wasn't the first time he had seen it, but he couldn't recall a prior meeting either. The Pokémon bent its legs, kneeling before him, and with the blink of an eye, it was gone again. Suddenly, the glass walls in the cave lighted up. As if he were in a room full of mirrors, Eljiah started walking again, amazed by the beauty of this cave. It felt as if time had stopped passing while he was inside here. He walked for a very long time, and started to wonder how far it was to the end. Suddenly, he saw someone ahead of him. Someone he had been longing for more than anyone else.

"Serena!" He rushed towards her, but when he was almost there, he hit the wall and fell on his back. He was both shocked and confused as to what had just happened, but he quickly realized it had just been his imagination playing tricks on him. He turned around to walk back, but instead of the road he had come from, there was now another mirroring wall. This one showed himself, but with Lysandre standing behind him, with his hand resting on Eljiah's shoulder. Why would he imagine that, he thought to himself. To his left was another wall, showing him being held by the three criminals he had met before. Finally, the wall on his right was completely empty. He thought about the things he saw, and a wave of emotions hit him. "These visions... These are my choices. Any of these walls show a possible outcome of my future. I could go back to Team Flare and be praised by Lysandre. I could be surprised and caught be the criminals. I could fail to save Serena, and leave her alone. Or..." He looked at the empty wall on his right, "I could die, and lose everything."

Eljiah stood up, and as a tear dropped to the floor, he picked up a rock. "But I refuse to accept any of it!" He ran towards the first wall, and broke the mirror with the stone. "I'm not going back to Team Flare!" He ran to the next wall. "I'm not going to let myself be caught!" Another glass wall shattered. "I won't fail to rescue Serena, and most of all... I won't die!" He broke the third and fourth wall, and suddenly everything was dark again. And there it was again, that white Pokémon, just like before. But this time, he wasn't alone. Another Pokémon was floating next to him, one that strongly reminded Eljiah of Alakazam, yet still different. Alakazam never had a beard, and it wasn't floating above the ground either. Besides, this version of Alakazam had way more than two spoons. Then, the Alakazam spoke to Eljiah.

"You have a remarkably strong desire, young one." This was the only time Eljiah ever heard a Pokémon talk human language, and he didn't know what to reply. "You refused to accept any of the futures I had layed out for you. I didn't even think of that as a possibility." A silence fell again. Eljiah had been correct, the visions he saw weren't just mind tricks. They were actual possible futures, which he could've chosen to follow. "Now, young one, close your eyes. Because of your decision to not pass on with your predicted futures, you will undergo an unknown path. Nobody, not even myself, knows what your future will hold. Therefore, I will grant you the wish that lays deepest in your heart. Then, you may pass."


	13. Another fight (1)

"Listen, Absol." The white Pokémon looked up at Alakazam. "I want you to follow Eljiah just like you've done for me so far. But this time... This time, you won't be coming back." Absol took a step back, surprised by what he had heard. He had been with Alakazam all his life, helping him analyse and judge people who had gone on their journey. He would follow young adventurers, take note of their behavior, and pass that information to Alakazam, so he could make his decision. "This young man isn't like any other. When I tried to fulfill his wish to get rid of the evil, he wouldn't let me. Even when I offered to save his girlfriend, he rejected my offer. He doesn't want his problems to be magically solved, he chooses to do them by himself. And so it will be. Absol, only you will know when the time is right, but when he really needs it, you must help him. Stay by his side, and don't leave him." Absol nodded, and after a short goodbye, he ran away in the direction Eljiah had went.

Even before Eljiah stepped outside, he could see the shape of a huge tower rising in front of him. The tower said to hold all connections to Mega Evolution, something Lysandre frequently mentioned. Could it be, he thought to himself, that I could use Mega Evolution myself? Could I possess the powers to do that? The thought alone got him excited to continue, and he started running. In a matter of minutes, he had reached the entrance to the tower. Before he could enter, a young girl came outside at high speed, skating like her life depended on it. She came to a stop as soon as she noticed the new visitor, and quickly glanced at him. "Do I know you?" Eljiah was actually quite surprised that she didn't recognize him. Since Viola had told Grant about him as well, he simply assumed that all gym leaders kept close contact with one another. But that was clearly not the case. "My name is Eljiah, I'm on a journey to defeat Team Flare. I want to gain access to Mega Evolution to get the upper hand in my fight. Do you know who I could ask for more information?" The girl paused for a moment, then burst out in laughter. Apparently, Eljiah had said something really funny, though he didn't know what that could be.

"Okay, first of all, my name is Korrina. I'm the one and only Mega Evolution Successor, so if you were looking for more information, here's your girl. Secondly, who is Team Flare, and why should they be stopped?" Again, her words confused Eljiah. How could she not know about Team Flare? Is this town so secluded from the rest of the region that news didn't even arrive here at all? That would explain why she didn't know about Eljiah. But then again, this was the headquarter of all things related to Mega Evolution, so shouldn't this be a famous place? So many things were going through Eljiah's mind, that he nearly forgot he was talking with someone. "So eh, Korrina was it, right? How do I become capable of Mega Evolution myself?" The girl shook her head, as if he had just said something incredibly stupid. "If any random guy could just walk into the tower here and gain access to Mega Evolution, this world would've already been destroyed. That's my role here; I judge people's capabilities and decide whether or not they qualify to get a Key Stone. So if you want to give it a shot, I'd suggest you follow me to my Gym!"

Eljiah tried to follow her, but she was way too fast on her rollerskates, so he ended up having to ask directions a few times before finding the Pokémon Gym. The inside was just a great empty field, just like how he imagined a Pokémon Gym to be. Grant's arena had been quite small, being located on top of a giant pillar. Korrina had already been awaiting him, as she had a small table with three Pokéballs standing next to her. Eljiah got to the other side of the field, ready to start the battle. "Okay, listen up. My battles are done one-on-one, meaning that you are only allowed to have one Pokémon on the field at once. Aside from that, you're only allowed to use three Pokémon. In order to get an invitation for the Mega Evolution challenge, you must prove how close your bond is with your Pokémon. That doesn't mean that you just have to beat me, I've defeated opponents who give it all they had with their Pokémon, and I still allowed them through. So prove to me that you're one of those, and a Key Stone might be in your hands soon!" In a softer, but just hearable tone, she added "...Although I highly doubt it from you."

Korrina's first Pokémon was a Machoke. The bulky fighter cracked his knuckles and got ready to fight. Eljiah considered his options, and threw his first Pokéball too. Braixen came out, and immediately locked eyes with her opponent. Machoke was impatient, as he immediately went for his first hit, which Braixen easily avoided. She returned with Fire Spin, and a ring of fire surrounded Machoke, which visibly startled him. An opponent for Braixen who is scared of fire, thought Eljiah. That's just perfect. Braixen also realized her advantage, and shot a Psybeam at him. The Machoke didn't stand a chance, or so they thought. Suddenly, he started to bash his fists into the ground repeatedly, causing the entire building to shake. At first, this didn't seem to have any affect, but then huge boulders came falling down from the ceiling. Eljiah already saw it coming. "Not again..." But this time, Braixen wouldn't be fooled. She created a giant ball of fire around her, and dodged the falling rocks at an incredible speed. Then, she smashed right into Machoke, blasting him away.

Machoke was defeated, and Korrina called out her second Pokémon; Hawlucha. Braixen tried to get her fire powers back, but Hawlucha was much too fast for her. He grabbed her tightly, flew into the air, and crashed right back into the ground, leaving her unconscious. Eljiah was suddenly a bit more worried about the fight. "I know I still have just as many Pokémon left as Korrina, but Braixen was by far the most powerful one. I haven't even seen much from Mienfoo at all, so I'm still not fully aware of his capabilities. My best bet right now has to be Helioptile, though he also has a weakness to their type..." After a few more seconds of consideration, he sent out Helioptile. "Come on, I know you can do this! You've been with me from the start, I know you'll be fine here!"


	14. Another fight (2)

Helioptile jumped on one of the many rocks that were now scattered throughout the gym arena. He opened his frills, charging up as much electrical energy as possible. He knew that Hawlucha, his opponent, was much stronger, but that was no reason to give up. If anything, that was only more reason for the little lizard Pokémon to get more hyped up for the battle. Eljiah, his owner, had chosen him to fight. Eljiah believed that he was capable of defeating him, and he couldn't let him down. Hawlucha carefully awaited his first move, ready to move instantly. "Helioptile, use Thunder Shock!" Helioptile obeyed, and using all of the power in his frills, he shot an electrical beam at Hawlucha, which it barely managed to dodge. It responded with a powerful punch, hitting Helioptile right in his face. He was launched backward, and landed face-first into the ground. He quickly got back up again, not showing any weakness.

Next, Hawlucha paused to sharpen its claws. This gave Eljiah a chance to turn the tables in the battle. "Helioptile, gather as much energy as you can, and use Parabolic Charge!" Helioptile's frills started glowing, before striking multiple lightning bolts at Hawlucha. When the bolts connected with the opponent, Helioptile began absorbing the energy. It took Hawlucha a while to break out, giving Helioptile enough time to recover all of his health. Hawlucha rushed at him, picked him up, and launched himself into the air. With great force, he came crashing down again, smashing Helioptile on the rock he had been standing on only moments ago. Eljiah could clearly hear something breaking, and he feared that it wasn't just the rock. He wanted to run into the field and save his Pokémon, but something held him from doing so. He couldn't move, he was nailed to the ground. When the dust that had come up upon his impact had cleared up, he could see his little friend laying on the floor, next to a shattered rock. He was clearly hurt very badly, too much so to continue fighting. It was then that Eljiah spotted a faint light coming from inside the rock. He couldn't see it very clearly, but if it was what he thought it was, this battle wasn't over quite yet. "Helioptile, try to reach the stone in the center of that rock!" Helioptile looked over to his right, and noticed the light as well. Slowly, he crawled towards it, but Hawlucha quickly interfered. He jumped in between him and the rock, blocking his path. Eljiah was sharp, and immediately had a counter plan. "Use Quick Attack!" Helioptile got back on his legs, which alarmed Hawlucha. He dived forward to grab him, but ended up falling on the floor. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw Helioptile touching the rock with his arms, grabbing the glowing part in the center.

The rock he touched wasn't just and ordinary rock. In the center, a Sun Stone was hidden, which was exactly what Helioptile needed to evolve. The tiny lizard was shrouded by a giant pillar of light, and electrical shocks were coming from the source. Eljiah was almost blown away by an invisible force, like a great gust of wind coming from his Pokémon. The light faded, and as if he was reborn, Heliolisk was standing on top of the remains of the rock, ready to fight on. Hawlucha wasn't going to let this be his defeat. He instantly went for another attack, rushing right at him. With a swift jump, Heliolisk avoided his attack, and countered with a Thundershock. Hawlucha turned around and did the same thing again, only this time he was too fast for Heliolisk to dodge. He grabbed him and flew into the air as before, and came down with incredible speed. Heliolisk was still damaged from before his evolution, and this smack to the ground was too much for him. Eljiah was shocked to see how Hawlucha was still able to stand, although he was having a lot of trouble with it. He called Heliolisk back. Only one Pokémon remained, and he had not seen much of him in battle. The only time was back in Grant's Gym, and he didn't do much there. But, without any other option, Eljiah sent out Mienfoo.

Mienfoo wasn't very excited for the battle. With a bored look on his face, he strolled into the arena. He looked at Hawlucha, who was still struggling to stay on his feet. Mienfoo shook his head, picked up a rock, and threw it right between Hawlucha's eyes. He fell backwards on the floor, and didn't get back up again. Korinna called back her Pokémon. "So it's come to this, eh? Unique choice of Pokémon, I really like it. Let's see who of us really has the strongest Pokémon. Mienfoo, go!" She threw her third and final Pokéball, and from it came another Mienfoo. Eljiah was surprised as to what happened next. His Mienfoo looked at the opponent, and suddenly something changed. His entire body suddenly got ready for a fight, as opposed to the relaxed mode it had been a moment ago. For some reason, seeing another one of his own kind seemed to enrage him. His eyes turned red and appeared to glow. He cried shrilly, and Eljiah assumed he was trying to communicate with the other Mienfoo. Korinna got a slightly worried look on her face, and her Mienfoo took a step backwards. Eljiah didn't really understand what had suddenly gotten into him, but his Mienfoo appeared to have gone completely insane. "Mienfoo, are you alright? Take it easy, okay?" Mienfoo turned to Eljiah, and even he took a step back in fear. The look on his eyes was just purely evil, as if he planned to kill him instead of simply knocking out his opponent. Without waiting another moment, he jumped at the other Mienfoo, and hit her with his flat hand. The move had paralyzed her, but she managed to hit him as well. He didn't seem to be hurt too much, yet he immediately came back with a counter attack. He punched her in the stomach, but didn't pull his fist back. Instead, he drained the energy away from her, recovering some health for himself. Finally, he hit her one final time, sending her flying back to Korinna.

Korinna returned her Mienfoo to the Pokéball, and Eljiah did the same with his. He stared at the ball for a moment, as if he was afraid that his Mienfoo might get out by himself. That anger couldn't have been normal, he thought to himself. "Alright then, you've won." She tried to play it cool, but Eljiah could hear in her voice that it scared her too. "Well, rules are rules. Follow me to the Tower of Mastery, and we'll see if you can also handle Mega Evolution. Again, don't get your hopes up. Many, many people have failed."


	15. Mega

The giant Lucario statue towered high above Eljiah's head. Eljiah noticed that it looks much more intimidating than what he remembers Lucario to be like. Everything, from its dreadlocks to its stance, it seemed to express a more powerful being than usual. Eljiah followed Korrina on the slowly ascending path that spiraled around the Tower of Mastery, climbing his way to the top. He had to run to keep up with the Gym Leader, as she was still skating around. After what seemed to take forever, they finally reached the upper level of the tower. Eljiah stepped outside, and immediately felt the wind blowing against him. Down on the ground, there was barely any air current at all, but up here was a completely different story. Korinna held up her arm, showing him some kind of bracelet. "Alright, Eljiah, it's time for the test. This bracelet contains the Key Stone, an essential item if you want to master Mega Evolution. Without the power within that stone, you'll never be able to evolve any Pokémon beyond its limits. Eljiah took the bracelet, and put it on his arm. Korinna called out two of her Pokémon, this time two identical Lucario. One of them walked to him, while the other one stayed.

"We'll battle with only each our own Lucario. If you can Mega Evolve it, you'll certainly be able to do the same with your other Pokémon too. However, if you can't... I'm afraid you'll have to give up on your dreams." She smiled at him in a way that really enraged him. It was as if she already knew he wouldn't be able to do it. He'd prove her wrong, that's for sure. Korinna held her hand up high, and Eljiah noticed that her glove contained the Key Stone that was also in his bracelet. A flashing light emerged from the stone, and Lucario responded to it. A giant pink ball formed around him, covering him entirely. A massive pressure seemed to push it from inside, forcing the ball to increase in size. The pink ball grew bigger, until it exploded with a blinding light, revealing Mega Lucario. It looked exactly like the giant statue Eljiah had watched before. Black markings reached across his entire body, and he had more sharp spikes on his hands and shoulders. Eljiah didn't wait any longer, and raised his arm with the bracelet as well.

He could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins. Mega Evolution was essential for any powerful trainer. The Pokémon Champion can do it, Korinna can do it, even Lysandre revealed to be capable of Mega Evolving his Pokémon. Obtaining the power to Mega Evolution himself would open all doors for his success. He'd be much closer to being who he always wanted to be, a successful person who people will look up to. Of course, he would first use his powers to free Serena, and then he'd defeat Lysandre. He could already imagine the battle, one versus one, his team against Lysandre's. He would defeat him, and Team Flare would be no more. That was everything he wanted to achieve for now. He'd take Serena and go somewhere far away, where they could be together in peace. Or maybe not that at all, maybe they'd become a heroic duo, who went across the country to save people. Whatever Serena wanted, Eljiah would go with that. He got even more excited just thinking about it. Everything was in the palm of his hand, he just had to activate it...

But nothing happened. There was no flash, no pink ball, no response from his Lucario. Only the air that blew through his hand. Defeated by the reality, he stood there, motionless. Everything he just thought, all the amazing things he imagined. It was all a lie. Gone with the wind, away from his grasp. This wasn't just any ordinary disadvantage, like he had so many of in the past. This was the end of his journey. Without Mega Evolution, he couldn't possibly defeat the Champion, nor could he cause the end of Team Flare. All of those things were now no longer possible. He thought back of the things he saw in the Reflection Cave, the possible outcomes of his future. Maybe those visions were correct after all, he would eventually end up choosing one of those paths. There was no point in continuing from here. He had lost everything he had worked for. Eljiah decided that his journey was over right there.

"Haha, I should be honest with you, I already knew you wouldn't make it. You're just an ordinary trainer, nothing special. Only the very best are capable of Mega Evolution, don't be too harsh on yourself. There's no reason to be disappointed." Eljiah didn't reply. He walked past her, back inside, and began to walk down the long path. "Wait, Eljiah! Where are you going?" Eljiah looked back at Korrina, who was surprised to see his mood switch so quickly. "This ordinary trainer is going back to where he came from. My story is over." He continued walking downwards. Korinna asked him to stop, and not to be so beat up about it, but Eljiah didn't listen. He didn't want to hear anything about it anymore. He asked a hiker for the quickest way back to Lumiose City, and he said he'd have to take the monorail in Coumarine City. He started walking in the direction he guided him in, slowly approaching his final destination.

He boarded the monorail, and not long after, it departed from the platform. The entire time, all Eljiah did was stare outside, depressed by his failure. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up in the first place, it was a ridiculous dream from the beginning. He closed his eyes, and dozed off. He had probably only been sleeping for about five minutes, when an extremely loud noise awakened him again. His eyes shot open, and he immediately saw the big gaping hole in the side of the monorail. Something must have exploded to create a hole that big, but he couldn't imagine anything that could've been the cause. He stood up, and noticed three characters standing on the other side of the monorail. One of them noticed Eljiah first. "You've got to be kidding me... Shauna, look who's here." The female of the three looks in his direction. "No... No no no! That's it, I've had far enough of you and your stupid interfering nature! Every single time again, you magically happen to be in the same place as us, just to mess up our plans! How persistent can you be? You don't even have both of your arms, isn't it time for you to give up? I have an idea, I'll help you. I'll make sure that this is the last time you appear for us!"


	16. Tears

Eljiah stood up, slowly, showing that he had no intention to make any sudden actions. He walked into the aisle, in clear view of the trio. He was only standing a few meters away from the gigantic hole in the side of the monorail. He had his hands at his sides, leaving him completely vulnerable. Even the voice he spoke with was monotone, as if all energy had drained out of his body with the failure of the Mega Evolution test. "Listen, Shauna, Trevor and… Tierno? I'm not going to stop you. I'm not going to send out my Pokémon, I won't fight, I'll just stand here and watch. Do whatever you want. It's been enough for me, my story is over. Leave me be." Tierno smiled, happy that their plans wouldn't be spoiled a third time in a row. They already failed to steal the super valuable Pokémon from Sycamore's lab, and couldn't get away with the treasures of Parfum Palace, but at least now they'd be able to hijack the region's only normal way of reaching Shalour City. After this they would only have to block off Reflection Cave and all the goodies in the city would be theirs to claim. Tierno could already feel the money flowing through his hands.

But Shauna wasn't as happy as him. Instead, she was infuriated with Eljiah. "How dare you! What part of you got the idea that you could just show up here again, pretending like you're innocent and you'll do nothing!" She was so mad that her face turned red as Team Flare's logo. "You destroyed our plans not once, not twice, but three whole times! And now you think we're going to leave you alone without a fight? Forget it!" She started walking firmly near Eljiah. When she got closer, she noticed her bloodshot eyes. He took a few steps back, until he realized he was getting dangerously close to the edge of the hole. He looked at her face again, and now he noticed something else. Was Shauna… crying? Why would that be? "You're weak, Eljiah, pathetic! You couldn't even keep your right arm after that fall from the palace? How lame! If you're not going to fight, that only makes it easier for me! I'm all done with you, Eljiah the Great! I don't want to see you ever again! I thought you were awesome, but now that I see you like this, you can DIE!" Together with that last word, she raised her right leg and kicked Eljiah in his stomach. He wanted to take a step back, but a fraction of a second too late, realized there was no ground to stand on.

Somehow, Eljiah had managed to hold on to the rail with his hand. Now he was dangling high up in the air, with nowhere to go. He was right under the monorail, stuck. He couldn't climb on the rail, because the monorail was in the way. He also couldn't go left or right, as moving required both his arms. Nobody knew about the hijack yet, and by the time they would find out, it would be too late. Eljiah closed his eyes. "Well, this is how it really ends. On the bright side, I won't have to face my roommates back at Team Flare again, nor will I have to live with the idea that I couldn't save Serena. Serena…" A tear fell down to the far below ground. He looked at his belt. "Heliolisk… Mienfoo… Braixen… I'm sorry." After that, he released his grasp on the iron rail, and descended to the ground. The wind tugging at his quickly falling body must feel weird, he thought, but for some reason he didn't feel anything at all. Maybe it had already happened. Maybe he had already died, that's why he didn't feel anything. Either way, the flame in his body had been extinguished.

He remained motionless for a while, expecting something to happen. When he figured that wasn't the case, he opened his eyes again, and realized that he hadn't fallen at all. He looked down, and his arm was clearly freely hanging, no longer holding the rail. Slowly, partially afraid of what he would see, he turned his look upwards. There was a second arm holding on to the rail, keeping him from dying. An arm that connected to his body. It was _his _right arm. He was both shocked and confused, about how this could possible by made possible, when a voice from behind answered his question. "Alakazam told me I should jump in when you would really need help. I think this was what he meant." Eljiah turned his head, and saw the astounding appearance of Mega Absol, complete with the large crescent horn and wings, just like he had imagined it to look like. It was floating in the middle of the air, smiling at him. "Hey, what do you think? Let's surprise those three criminals up there and show them what we're really made of!" Eljiah nodded. He had received a second chance at life, another attempt. How awful would it be to reject that chance? He swiftly climbed back into the monorail, surprised by how easily he could use his second arm again.

"Hey, Shauna?" The girl, who was facing the opposite direction, froze instantly when she heard his voice. She slowly turned around, only to see the one she threw to his death minutes ago standing in front of her, with his right arm returned to his body, and a completely different expression on his smile. Eljiah saw how Trevor threw his arms in the air and sank down to the floor in defeat, muttering some words like 'how?' and 'he's a god?'. Tierno started bashing his head on one of the seats. Shauna however reacted totally different. She quickly turned away and wiped her tears away with sleeve, trying to hide it from him. Then, her usual face returned, the one with the evil smirk. "That's how I know you, Eljiah! Never give up, no matter what! For a moment, I thought you had changed… How foolish of me!" Tierno looked puzzled at his leader. "Are you… encouraging him? What's gotten into you all of a sudden? First you cry, and now you-" Shauna put her hand on Tierno's mouth to stop him from continuing. "Come on guys, we're going to drive this thing to the station quickly, before anyone finds out. Eljiah gets the benefit this time. And I don't want to hear a single word from either of you!


	17. Never give up

"Korinna said you gave up on your ideals after failing to achieve Mega Evolution, but I'm seeing something entirely different here." The old man jumped up from his chair with surprising ease, considering his age. "I also remember her saying you only have one arm, but I can clearly see two, and my eyes are still perfectly fine! Either you or Korinna is lying to me, and Korinna has always been an honest girl. Sometimes a little bit too honest, but at least she wouldn't dare to tell a lie." Eljiah smiled with confidence. This Gym battle would be the easiest so far. He had a clear advantage over the Grass type with Braixen; there was no reason to worry. Aside from that, he also smiled because of the attention he had attracted amongst the Gym Leaders. Everyone knew him by now, anticipating the upcoming battle against him. In a way, he was already famous, which was exactly what he wanted. "No Ramos, she's right. I used to have only one arm, and I did indeed give up on my dreams. But now, things have changed, and I wish to battle you!"

Ramos raised an eyebrow. "Well, whether you are a runaway Team Flare member or not, you seem eager to battle, so why not. But keep in mind that I'm not holding back for a whippersnapper like you!" The Gym Leader walked to the back of the arena, and threw up his first Pokéball. From it came Jumpluff, a perfect first target for Braixen. Eljiah threw up his own ball, and the fight was ready to begin. Braixen wanted to run towards her opponent, but Jumpluff was slightly faster and used Leech Seed, which caused seeds to appear all around her. Braixen reacted by grabbing the branch from her tail, and casting a giant Flamethrower. Jumpluff immediately fainted and dropped to the ground. Ramos returned his Pokémon, and immediately sent out his second one, Weepinbell. Braixen was temporarily distracted by the seeds Jumpluff had planted and didn't see Weepinbell approaching. It used Poison Powder, infecting Braixen with a toxic dust. This caused her to weaken a little, but she still managed to draw her stick again and conjure another scorching stream of fire, instantly knocking her second opponent out. Ramos returned his Pokémon, and sent out his last one. A Gogoat emerged from his Pokéball, and for the third time, Braixen grabbed her stick.

Unfortunately, this time Gogoat was too fast. He stomped his feet on the ground, causing the ground to shake heavily. Braixen was hit heavily by the attack, and fell down to the ground. Eljiah returned her to her Pokéball while Ramos laughed in the distance. "I knew Gogoat's Bulldoze would be able to defeat your Fire type; that's what I trained it for. Now let's really see what you have in store for me!" Eljiah didn't lose confidence, and sent out Heliolisk. They discussed their battle strategy before the battle, so he didn't have to say a word. Heliolisk jumped up high into the air and blasted a Thunderbolt at Gogoat. He took some damage, but it was not enough to stop his attacks. Gogoat returned with Grass Knot. Two vines made Heliolisk trip and fall to the ground, after which Gogoat once again used Bulldoze. The super effective move was enough to knock out Heliolisk in one hit, sending him back to Eljiah. Ramos got the idea that without Braixen, Eljiah wouldn't be able to defeat him, but he didn't give up that easily. After seeing what insane powers Mienfoo held in the previous battle, he was confident that she could take down Gogoat with relative ease as well. He sent her out, and waited for what she would do. For some reason, she didn't want to listen to his strategy when he informed his Pokémon, so it was all up to her now.

Eljiah watched in excitement, but Mienfoo didn't do anything. It seemed as if the battle was completely uninteresting to her, and she started casually walking around the area. Everyone, including Gogoat, was confused for a moment, but then he came back to his senses. He used Grass Knot on her, making Mienfoo incapable of moving away, as Gogoat charged up a powerful Take Down. Mienfoo was launched into the air and landed behind Eljiah. He returned her to her Pokéball, and sent out his final Pokémon, Absol. Eljiah proudly stretched out his arm to Absol. "Absol, you're my personal ace for this battle. Now go and Mega Evolve!" Ramos' eyes shot open, amazed by what he just heard. A person capable of Mega Evolving his Pokémon without the corresponding stones was unheard of. For a moment, he believed it was real, until he noticed that nothing was happening at all. Eljiah was disappointed by his failure. "But Absol, I've seen you in your Mega Form, why can't I do it again?" For some reason, Eljiah was able to hear Absol's thoughts in his mind, which made them able to communicate. "That wasn't you initiating the Mega Evolution. I received some extra energy when I departed from Alakazam, which enabled me to Mega Evolve just once. You really can't do it without the stones. I'm sorry."

Eljiah was visibly frustrated, but he wasn't going to give up quite yet. He still had one Pokémon left to battle, and he would fight till the very end. "Absol, use Shadow Claw!" Absol sprinted towards the Gogoat, but his opponent was well aware of his move. Gogoat was going to charge into Absol with Take Down, causing extra damage. Right before they collided, Absol jumped into the air and scratched Gogoat's back with his claws. Absol safely landed on the ground, but Gogoat fell onto his knees. He quickly got back up and once again began charging a Take Down. Absol ran at Gogoat as well, but changed directions quickly and then turned back to bash into him from the side with a powerful Zen Headbutt. Gogoat fell onto the ground again, this time too weak to stand up again. "Absol, finish it with Megahorn!" Absol's horn started to change in size, growing to a massive length, and rammed into Gogoat, knocking it out. Ramos called back his last Pokémon, admitting his defeat. He walked up to Eljiah and handed him the Plant Badge. "Well done, whippersnapper. You didn't just defeat me, but you also surprised me. I really thought I had you after your Fire type got knocked out, but you made a fantastic return. I'll be sure to let the others know that the great Eljiah is still in the run!"


	18. Operation Serena

"Alright Ramos, tell me: where can I find the Kalos Power Plant?" Eljiah was determined. He was finally going to rescue Serena. After all this time they'd been separated, he would finally save her. Ramos was slightly taken aback by his question. "The Power Plant is actually very close to Coumarine City. Just head south onto Route 13 and you'll see it immediately. There are many entrances, but if I were you, I'd stay as far away from that place as possible. They've all been closed off by Team Flare, who currently have the Plant in their hands." Eljiah smiled as that confirmed that he was on the right trail. "Don't worry, that's exactly why I'm going there. There's someone there who I have to save."

As soon as Eljiah passed the Coumarine Gate, gusts of wind blew sand into his face. He quickly covered his eyes with his hand and continued walking. This desert area was entirely different from any place he had been before. Like Ramos had said, the multiple entrances were instantly visible as he entered the route. Eljiah didn't look any further than the very first doorway, which was electronically locked. "Sadly no element of surprise, but that's fine. We'll make a great appearance instead." He sent out Heliolisk, and ordered it to blow up the mechanisms that locked the door. With a great blast, the locks were destroyed, and the door fell off its hinges and onto the floor. Eljiah walked inside, filled with confidence and excitement over what he was about to do. He walked down the metal stairs and entered the main part of the power facility. Surprisingly enough, there was nobody there. Eljiah had expected there to be at least a handful of Team Flare members to control the place, but it seemed to be rather deserted. Eljiah walked to the big door at the side of the room, but stopped right before he entered the room. He heard some voices coming from the other side. Eljiah cursed silently when he recognized the voices, which were the two people he wanted to encounter the least right now: Viper and Brute. He placed his ear facing the cold steel door to eavesdrop on what they were saying.

"Still can't believe Lysandre put us up with this. I know he needs as many members as possible for the preparations, but why not us?" Viper was pissed off, as usual. He always was, no matter how good things were for him. "Hey Viper, look at it from the brighter side. Didn't he say we would be on the first row to see the great plan unfold? That's something too, isn't- Didn't I tell you to shut up? If I were you, I'd just do what you're told to do. You don't want anything to happen to that fragile little body of yours, don't you?" Eljiah straightened up. Brute had to be talking directly to Serena, no doubt. He couldn't just keep sitting there, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Without second thoughts, he opened the doors and walked inside. His former roommates jumped up in surprise. For a moment, they just stared at him, looking for the right words to say. From the corner of his eye, he could see Serena in a small room behind bars. How long had she been in there, held as a prisoner? Eljiah threw one Pokéball, from which Absol emerged. Viper's eyes grew even bigger than they already were. He threw his second Pokéball, and Braixen came out. Somewhere inside of Eljiah, he was enjoying this moment to the fullest. He was always the underdog of the trio, the one who was scared of the other two. Even after he left Team Flare, they attacked him to near-death, making sure that at least his arm was entirely disabled. And now, although he was presumed dead, here he was, with two functioning arms, and a stronger team than ever before. And on top of that, Serena didn't know better than to think he was dead either. Yet here he was, surviving through everything to save her life. Eljiah called out Heliolisk and Mienfoo, his last two Pokémon, and started walking towards the two.

"I don't know what kind of magic protection you've got on you, Zero, but I'm going to burst right through it! You should've been dead, but instead you're back to annoy us even more? This time, I'll make sure nothing remains of you!"

Viper raised his fist and charged at Eljiah, but all he hit was Absol's horn, which quickly covered for him. Eljiah didn't waste any more time. "Braixen, melt away those bars and save Serena!" When he looked at her, he saw the intense happiness in her eyes with the gladness that someone had come for her after all shining through. He also saw Mawile, the Pokémon who had protected him from his roommates back in Glittering Cave. Braixen grabbed her stick and cast a Flamethrower at the metal, but nothing happened. Brute laughed scornfully. "Good luck melting those bars, they're made from 99 percent fireproof material!" Eljiah's rage only grew by hearing that stupid laugh, the laugh that was to make him feel like he was the stupid one here. "Ninety-nine percent, you say? Then we'll go for that one last percent! Braixen, go for it!" Braixen took the sign, and threw the stick on the floor. She crossed her arms, and let a white light embrace her. When the light cleared up, Braixen had evolved into Delphox. Heliolisk helped by creating an electric barrier that protected Mawile and Serena from the searing flames that Delphox blasted at the bars. After a few Fire Blasts, the metal bars melted away entirely, releasing Serena and Mawile. Serena immediately ran towards Eljiah and embraced him. Viper tried to attack them, but Mienfoo quickly stuck out her leg and caused him to trip and fall flat on his face. "Come on Serena, let's go before they really attack us." Brute stood there hesitantly, debating whether he should care about Viper or go after Eljiah, but he was already too late. The door closed again, and Eljiah was gone.

When they got outside, everyone quickly covered up against the sandstorm. Serena hugged Eljiah again. "I was almost losing hope… They kept saying you were dead, but I knew that you wouldn't give up so easily." Eljiah thought back to the events on the monorail and how he had almost given up right there. He tried to forget it, and pointed to a gate ahead. "If I remember it correctly, that gate should lead back to Lumiose City. That's going to be our next destination." Serena nodded, and they started walking. After only a few steps, Serena suddenly stopped. "Oh, I forgot to ask. I don't think you'll mind it, but I've spent a lot of time with Mawile back at the plant. Would you mind it if she joins the team?" Eljiah laughed. "Of course! That's not a problem, she'll be a great addition!" Mawile smiled, before Eljiah took an empty Pokéball and called her back.


	19. A battle of trust

With their hands shielding their eyes, Eljiah and Serena continued the route to Lumiose City, a place Eljiah had been to multiple times since the start of his journey. The next objective was obviously Clemont, the Electric type Gym Leader. With Ground being its only weakness, he didn't have an outright advantage against him, but he had faith in his almost complete team. Delphox would be extremely useful as a fully evolved Pokémon, as would Heliolisk. Absol also had proven to be great, and Serena had ensured him that Mawile was a powerhouse as well. And Mienfoo… If only Mienfoo would show more interest in battles. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to care at all, and even losing a battle meant nothing to her. The only time he had seen her fighting spirit was against Korinna. That moment had been on Eljiah's mind for a longer time now, but he still couldn't figure out why she went berserk at that specific moment. "Eljiah?" He had been so lost in his own thoughts, that he completely missed the fact that Serena was talking to her. "I asked you if you were going to visit professor Sycamore again to show your progress." He thought about that for a moment. "I might, but only after the next Gym battle. I want to show you my progress as well. You've missed a lot." Serena smiled, and they went through the gates that blocked out the sandstorms and finally allowed them to lower their arms.

Lumiose City was as lively as always. Hundreds of people were hurrying across the street, trying to catch their train, walking from store to store, sitting outside cafes enjoying their drinks, etcetera. The Prism Tower was already in sight, and Eljiah didn't want to lose any more time. Making their way through the mass of people, they quickly approached the gigantic building. Once they were inside, a receptionist with a friendly smile came walking towards them. "Welcome to the Prism Tower. Is there anything we can help you with?" Eljiah didn't know what to say at first, because usually he just entered the Gym and there was nothing else he could possibly do there. However, the Prism Tower was multifunctional, so obviously there would be more staff. "I'm here to battle the Gym Leader, Clemont." The young woman shook her head. "I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid our Gym Leader has his schedule entirely full. If you could give me your name, I can put you on the waiting line." Eljiah was visibly frustrated, but he wouldn't lose his temper now. "My name is Eljiah." Upon hearing that name, the receptionist's mouth fell open. "E-Eljiah? You mean _the_ Eljiah? Clemont instructed me to immediately send you to him when you had arrived here. P-please follow me." She guided them to the elevator that lead to the Gym chamber. Serena was surprised at the fame her friend had acquired during her absence, but she was also very proud of him. They stepped in the elevator and went up.

When the doors opened, a young adult with blonde hair and a very remarkable outfit was awaiting them. "Ah, you must be the famous Eljiah! Come in, come in!" Both Eljiah and Serena looked around in awe. The walls of the chamber were entirely made of glass, which gave them a beautiful view over the entire city. "I know you don't like playing around, so I'll get right to the battle. However, because it's you, I've added a little extra challenge." Eljiah never liked being treated differently, but that was mainly because it always had been in a negative way. Maybe getting a positive special treatment wasn't that bad. "My Gym is run using a single battle style, meaning that you can only use one Pokémon at a time. However, I will also be testing how much faith you have in your Pokémon. You will not be allowed to interfere with the battle in any way! You must leave your Pokéballs here, and go outside of the arena field, leaving the battle entirely up to them." Eljiah was relieved. He had anticipated a much greater challenge than that. His Pokémon already practically did all the work anyway; it wouldn't make a major difference. He dropped the Pokéballs off at one side of the arena, and went to stand at the sidelines with Serena. Clemont looked at his Pokéballs. "I'm afraid there is a second problem. You have one Pokémon too many. I'll be forced to ask you to retrieve your most powerful Pokémon and keep it with you." Eljiah frowned. That sounded a bit unfair, but he wasn't going to complain. He went back to get Delphox' Pokéball, allowing the battle to start.

Clemont sent out his first Pokémon, Emolga. For a moment, nothing happened, but then Absol emerged from his Pokéball, willing to take the lead in this battle. Before Absol could even decide on what to do, Emolga had already landed a Quick Attack. Absol realized he couldn't waste too much time thinking, and struck back with Night Slash. Emolga evaded the first attack, but got hit by the other claw. In mid-fall, he managed to regain his balance and attacked Absol with Air Slash. Absol growled, annoyed by Emolga's speed. He jumped up high in the air, and hit her again with Night Slash, and this time he dragged him to the ground with his claws. Emolga was pinned to the ground with nowhere to go. Absol thought he had him, but unfortunately Emolga had one more trick up his sleeve. He charged up, broke free from Absol's grasp by using Volt Switch, and went back into his Pokéball. Immediately after, Heliolisk was sent out. Absol decided to not think much and immediately went for a Megahorn, which he landed perfectly. Heliolisk quickly got back up and retaliated with Thunderbolt, blasting him away. Absol tried to land another attack, but Heliolisk's Quick Attack was too fast for him, and knocked him out.

Absol returned to his Pokéball, and for a few seconds, nobody came out. Then, to Eljiah's surprise, Mawile was the one to battle next. He had never seen her battle before, barring the one time in Glittering Cave, but he was nearly unconscious at that point, so he didn't remember much of it. She started running towards the Heliolisk, and he ran towards her to intercept her attack. But before they reached each other, Mawile performed an amazing maneuver. The giant jaw opened and bit in the ground in front of her, and Mawile jumped up high into the air. When she was at the highest point, the jaw quickly released its grip on the floor, and with a somersault she managed to hit Heliolisk hard from behind. He was immediately at low health, but he wasn't defeated yet. Before he could get up, Mawile had run close to him and smashed him away with her jaw. Eljiah was amazed by her intelligence and creativity with the jaw she carries with her. Clemont returned Heliolisk, and sent out Emolga again. Mawile didn't wait for the Emolga to attack, but instead immediately jumped up, bit one of her wings, and smashed her to the ground. Emolga quickly recovered, and took revenge with a series of Air Slashes in quick succession, which completely disorientated Mawile. Eljiah noticed that although she was very strong, she wasn't as defensive. With one more Quick Attack, Mawile dropped down to the ground and fainted.

She returned to her Pokéball, and immediately after, Heliolisk came out. Eljiah was starting to get a little nervous now. Mienfoo probably wasn't going to do anything again, which meant that Heliolisk would have to take out both Emolga and Clemont's third Pokémon, whatever that was. He would put his life in Heliolisk's hands - that's how much he trusted him - but there was simply a limit to the amount of power he had, and it might not be enough to win this battle. Heliolisk cast a Thunderbolt on Emolga, which was enough to take down the already heavily weakened Pokémon. Clemont threw up his third and final Pokéball, from which a Magneton emerged. Heliolisk charged up another Thunderbolt, but it was easily absorbed by the Magneton, who didn't seem to be affected by it at all. Then, Heliolisk surprised anyone by performing a move nobody knew was possible. He summoned a gigantic wave of water out of nowhere, which crashed heavily down upon his opponent. Clemont gasped loudly, as he knew instinctively what water did to electrical devices. Magneton started shaking, and sparks flew out from all sides. He started glowing brightly, as if he was going to evolve, before releasing a massively powered up Mirror Shot. Heliolisk was blasted away by the attack so violently that he smashed into the glass walls, which couldn't hold that much force. The glass shattered into a million pieces, and together with the shards, Heliolisk tumbled down from the highest floor of the Prism Tower to the ground below.


	20. Greater heights

Eljiah watched in shock as the thick glass of the Prism Tower shattered, and Heliolisk was thrown outside. He wanted to move, to do something, but at the same time he realized there was nothing he could do. Serena was pinned to the ground, and so was as Gym Leader Clemont. Nobody was able to move, until one of Eljiah's Pokéballs began to shake. It opened, and from it emerged Mienfoo. Everyone's eyes followed her as it looked like she was the only one with any idea about what to do. She quickly ran to Magneton, grabbed one of its magnets, and dragged it along as she started running towards the broken glass. While running, she forced the Magneton into the puddle of water that remained on the floor, causing even more electronic defects. It began charging up uncontrollably, which seemed to be Mienfoo's plan. Eljiah let out a terrified scream when he realized that Mienfoo was about to jump out of the window as well. Mienfoo leaped and threw the Magneton up into the air. At that moment, it stopped charging, and released an incredibly powerful Thunderbolt, which blasted Mienfoo downwards to the ground below.

Mienfoo saw Heliolisk falling far below her, and she immediately knew that she had to increase her speed of descent in order to reach him before he hit the ground. The only thing going through her mind at that moment was how much faster she had to go. She had to increase speed no matter what, as she was the only one who was able to save her friend, the Pokémon she had spent so much time with. With all the power she had inside of her, she put all of her energy into doing just that. Heliolisk was coming closer, but there was no way she would reach him in time. He would hit the ground before she could save him, and he would die for sure. It couldn't happen, she wouldn't allow it. Not here, not now. An aura of light started to surround her and she squinted her eyes, trying to see through the glare. Her shape started to change, and she immediately felt an increase in speed. Maybe, she thought to herself, I can still make it. She reached out one hand towards Heliolisk and tried to grab him. She tried once, twice, but she kept missing. The ground was only a few seconds away now; there was only enough time for one more try. Once more, she desperately reached out for him, and finally managed to grab Heliolisk's arm. Relieved, she quickly pulled him up, held him with both arms, and braced herself for the landing. At last, with one foot, she landed with massive impact on the ground. The concrete shattered, causing a tremor to sweep throughout Lumiose City that could be clearly felt by everyone in the vicinity. Mienshao had done it. She had successfully rescued Heliolisk from his death. The newly evolved Pokémon gently placed her friend on the ground, and made sure he was all right.

As soon as he was able, Eljiah grabbed his Pokéballs and followed Serena and Clemont to the bottom floor of the Prism Tower. They ran outside, and immediately noticed that a massive crowd had gathered. They pushed themselves through the horde of people and saw Heliolisk lying on the floor next to the newly evolved Mienshao. Eljiah was stunned. This was the Pokémon who had never seemed to have any intentions to battle, and yet, right now, she was the one that pulled through and saved Heliolisk. He kneeled down in front of Heliolisk and checked his status. At first, the yellow lizard didn't move at all, but then his eyes opened slightly, showing feeble signs of life. Eljiah let out a sigh of relief and got back up. He was about to ask the crowd to make way for them to pass, when Professor Sycamore came into sight, pushing his way through the mass of sensation-hungry citizens. He stopped when he reached Eljiah, taking a moment to catch his breath. "Eljiah… I knew it had to be you. When I saw something falling out of the Prism Tower, I knew only you could be behind this… Please, come to my lab, so your Pokémon can rest up and we can talk." Professor Sycamore motioned for Serena to come with them, then asked the people to move out of the way. Clemont stayed behind to explain the situation to the people.

"I see you've improved your team quite a bit since the last time we met." Professor Sycamore sat down on the couch together with Eljiah and Serena. Heliolisk had been brought to the healing department of the lab to recover while the other Pokémon had gone off to play except for Delphox, who insisted on staying close to Serena. Ever since Serena was rescued, she had seemed to be a lot happier. Eljiah concluded that the two must've had a closer bond than he initially expected, as she refused to be separated from Serena now. It was kind of like the bond Eljiah had with Heliolisk. He was glad to see Delphox so happy, and he really hoped she would never have to undergo any form of separation with Serena again. "That Mienshao of yours is a real hero. I don't want to imagine what would've happened to Heliolisk is she hadn't been there." Eljiah nodded slowly before replying. "I'm surprised, though. She never appeared to be interested in anything. In battles, she always just kind of looked around, as if she was completely unaware of the opponent. I really didn't expect her to do this so suddenly." At that moment, Clara walked in to call Professor Sycamore. She didn't notice Eljiah at first, but when her eyes met his, her mouth fell open. "Eljiah! I'm so glad to see you again! How have you been? How's your Pokémon doing? Did you win against all the Gym Leaders yet? Are you going to take on the Elite Four? And who is that, your girlfriend?" The stream of questions never seemed to end. Professor Sycamore just laughed, and invited Clara to sit on the couch with them. "Maybe, if you would talk a bit slower, our friend here could get the chance to answer some of your questions."


	21. Fear

"Eljiah… Is there really no other way to get to Laverre City? Just look at what's ahead of us, I really don't want to go there." Eljiah felt Serena squeezing his hand slightly while they stood at the entrance of the Laverre Nature Trail, the connecting path between Lumiose and Laverre City. Serena didn't think much of it at first, but once she saw the trees through the mist that shrouded the route, she had stopped walking. The Laverre Nature Trail is a swampy route through a forest that is supposedly haunted by the Pokémon living there. Eljiah squeezed back with his hand. "Don't worry, there's nothing scary about this place. Everything you've heard about it is just a rumor, so there's nothing to be worried about." He tried his best to make her feel safe even though the place was quite unsettling to him as well. However, eager to get to the next city and battle Valerie for another Gym badge, he set foot towards the swampy route. Serena followed right behind him, not letting go of his hand. Together, they entered the thick mist.

The first half of the route went slowly, but safely. They couldn't see too far ahead, but they took it slow and made sure to avoid the muddy areas. There were signs pointing out the right direction, so they knew where to go. After some time, they reached a river with what once used to be a wooden bridge over it. All that was left of it now were some rotten planks. "There's no way we can get across this river without the bridge, but the sign indicates that that's the direction we have to go." Serena was getting really worried now. The entire time, she had been startled by strange noises in the woods, or things she thought she saw moving through the fog. Based on nothing but his own instinct, Eljiah pointed to the left. "We should go that way. Maybe we'll find another way to cross the river." Serena agreed, trusting fully on her friend's leadership. They continued on their way, but left the route that was set out for travelers planning to go to Laverre City. After less than a minute, the remains of the wooden bridge were already out of sight.

Serena gasped with surprise when Eljiah suddenly stopped walking, causing her to bump into him. He pointed at one of the trees, and Serena immediately noticed what he was referring to. A slimy trail was seen glistening faintly on the trunk of the tree. Eljiah figured that some creature must've left it behind when it passed. Eljiah slowly followed the path up the tree with his eyes, where it seemed to disappear. Suddenly, he saw something falling from the corner of his eye, followed by a terrified scream from Serena. He quickly turned towards her and saw something disgusting sitting on her face. He then immediately grabbed the thing and pulled it from her face, throwing it on the ground. "T-that thing just… It came from the t-tree, and swooped right on… Right on my face…" Serena was clearly mortified by what had just happened. Eljiah wiped off the last bits of dirt from her face and squeezed her hand again, letting her know that everything was fine. Then, he focused his attention towards the creature that had just attacked her. "Goomy, a Pokémon that lives in this area. Gross and slimy, ugh. We should get out of here as quickly as possible." Eljiah started walking again with a much quicker pace this time. He kept looking left and right, and noticed more slime trails on the ground and the trees. That Goomy wasn't the only one living here. Not long after, Serena screamed again. "A-another one! It f-fell right next to me!" Eljiah looked over his shoulder, and indeed, another Goomy was sitting there on the dirt. Suddenly, Goomy started falling from the trees everywhere. There were also some crawling out of the muddy parts of the swamp, the bushes, and even the river. Serena started crying, terrified of all the Pokémon that surrounded them. Eljiah grabbed her hand tightly and started running as fast as she could follow, avoiding the falling goo monsters left and right.

Just as it seemed like the Goomy rain was never going to cease, Elijah finally saw something in the distance. "Serena, look! There's a house just over there! We can take shelter there!" They quickly ran into the cabin and slammed the door shut behind them after throwing the last Goomy that had latched itself onto Elijah's legs outside. Exhausted from running, the two of them sunk to the floor. Serena then burst into tears, finally giving in to her emotions. Eljiah hugged her, letting her know that he was still there and that he would take care of her. They sat there for a while, and soon they both fell asleep right there on the floor. It wasn't many hours later before Serena woke up and was able to get her thoughts straight again. She cursed herself for being so dependent on her friend. She didn't know what she would've done if Eljiah hadn't been there for her. "I have to be braver so I can do things on my own as well. I should've been able to run away from those Team Flare guys back then, but I was too scared. That'll change from now on."

Serena got up, making sure that she didn't awaken Elijah, and started exploring the house. She didn't see anything suspicious, but she couldn't help but feel like someone, or something, was watching her. Walking into the next room, which was a bedroom, she was greeted with the sight of a single, two-person bed in the middle of the room, as well as an empty closet. She entered the adjoining bathroom and looked into the mirror. Her hair was all messed up, and her clothes were ruined. Remembering that she could get a new outfit from a boutique in Laverre City though made her feel better. Serena finally turned around to go back, only to find two glowing yellow eyes staring at her from the doorway. She suppressed a scream, knowing that Eljiah was still sleeping, and slowly took a step back. The creature then stepped forward into the light of the bathroom, and Serena came face to face with a round, blue Pokémon that stared back at her with its big eyes. Serena's legs shook with fear, but she told herself to remain calm. She then crouched down to get at equal level with the Pokémon, and gestured to it to come closer. "I won't hurt you, I promise…"

Eljiah stretched out, finally waking up from his rest. He slowly got up and looked around, trying to recover his memory from the day before. "Oh, right, the Goomy invasion. I can't believe we got away from that. I remember hugging Serena; it felt so nice-" he stopped, realizing that something was missing. "Where did she go?" He looked all around the house, checking the bathroom last, and finally found her sitting on the floor, next to a Golett. "Serena, who's that?" She looked up at Eljiah and smiled. "Oh, did I wake you up? Sorry if I did." Eljiah shook his head and crouched down next to the two. "I found this Pokémon alone here in the house. He appears to have lost its parents, and now he lives here by himself." Eljiah reached out his hand, and the Golett grabbed it. "He seems so young… Did he get separated from his parents? Or maybe… it's even worse…" Serena noticed a tear coming from Golett's eye. She quickly wiped it away and hugged the Pokémon tightly. Somehow, she must be able to communicate with Pokémon better than he could, because she seemed to know what happened to Golett's parents. "Team Flare killed them both."


End file.
